Let Me In
by The Wandering Muse
Summary: Sequel to Love Hurts. Set during X3. Join Rogue as she gangs up with the Brotherhood with bad boy Johnny at her side. With the Phoenix's psyche guiding her, what can go wrong? RYRO R&R!
1. Mend My Wounds

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men so don't sue me!**

**Author's Note:** My way of procrastinating writing boring essays, I give you the sequel to Love Hurts and I do recommend you read the first if you haven't already.

_Just to let you know, Rogue has Logan's healing touch, Magneto's metal ability, Bobby's ice ability, and Jean's telekinesis and a tiny little bit of telepathy. She also has the psyche in her mind… _

**Summary:** A continuation to the last chapter of Love Hurts. Rogue joins the Brotherhood.

**Warnings:** I don't think this is a warning but I am currently trying out this new writing style.

**Other Notes:**

"Saying"

_Thoughts_

'_Telepathic thoughts'_

---

**Love Hurts**

Chapter Sixteen: Just the Beginning

Rogue rolled her eyes and pulled back the hood. She gave him the shock of his life. He stepped back and she stepped forward. "Surprised, Johnny?" Pyro was speechless. He was about to open his mouth and reprimand her that he was Pyro now, but he liked the way she said his name. Rogue's eyes shone with happiness as she spoke, "Take me home."

---

**Chapter One: Mend My Wounds**

The clinic in Lower Manhattan was already scorched and burned to the ground, just what Magneto had ordered. A swarm of reporters and journalists were converging on the scene from every direction, with them came the quick pursuit of fire and rescue units. Pyro had used the distraction and gotten himself and Rogue to safety. She, for some reason, had started wearing the hood up again. Bobby tried looking hard for his former best friend, but the crowd was too large.

The group of reporters barely managed to throw a single question before their attention was distracted by an all-too-familiar voice booming from the speakers of a nearby radio. Instantly, everyone gathered around one of the newsvans for a view of Magneto's face as he began his broadcast, addressing them formally as if he was the President himself.

"Today's attack on your 'cure' was only our first attempt…" he informed the world. Bobby shook his head in frustration.

"So long as this so-called cure exists, our war will rage. Your cities will not be safe. Your streets will not be safe. You will not be safe."

"You want a cure," he continued to watch Magneto on the screen. "You will have it. A cure to all that ails you." He didn't like the sound of that. But where Magneto was concerned, what else was new?

-

At the Mansion, the remaining X-Men crew quietly joined the younger students in the common room to watch the same broadcast. "And to my fellow mutants," Magneto concluded, "I make you this offer, and this warning: Join us or stay out of our way." That was it and then the broadcast switched over to the news-room and began to present a series of reports from around the country. The incident at Lower Manhattan hadn't been an isolated attack, but a part of a coordinated group of simultaneous strikes throughout the nation. There'd been no X-Men present to protect the innocents and the results were ruin after gutted ruin, and a casualty list including a body count, that made many watching weep.

"What do we do now?" Kitty quietly asked. She tried to make contact with the older X-Men but they were too busy staring downwards. No one dared to tell the younger group that their friend was not going to be around anymore. Logan had immediately stalked out of the room and they heard a loud motorcycle roar in the background. Pete observed the group quietly: Kitty was nervous; Jubilee, for once, was quiet; Spike was idly playing with a loose thread on the couch; Bobby was nowhere to be found and so was Rogue; Blake was slouched in a corner with Uriel, both were whispering; Mr. Summers had his arms folded but chatting with Warren.

Storm wandered to the balcony and let loose her emotions outside. Dark, heavy clouds loomed and rain suddenly poured down heavily, drenching her from head to toe. The professor didn't even apprehend her for her actions. He slumped in his wheelchair, looking utterly defeated and lost.

Everything was a mess. They needed time to mend their wounds, both new and old. However, time won't wait for them.

---

Pyro led Rogue away from the crowd and towards the chopper where Victor was standing. Victor frowned when a familiar scent hit his sensitive nose. _Impossible…but she timed it well_, he thought. When the young villains were buckled up, he started the chopper and left for the headquarters. An uncomfortable silence stretched throughout the ride as none of them wanted to speak. Victor and Pyro shared similar thoughts but were reluctant in asking the obvious. As for Rogue, she was too pre-occupied of the past events.

After what seemed like a half hour, the chopper descended gently into a clearing. Victor watched amusingly and held back a laugh as Pyro jumped out and stride over to her side to pull open the door. _Ah, love!_

She nodded her thanks and followed behind him as he led the way into a makeshift, large room that seemed cold and uninviting. She noticed Magneto's eyes widened just a little before passing, from looks of it, she understood he already knew who she was since she wore the very same dark green trench coat when they had first met. Only at that time, she was the helpless, innocent, wide-eyed girl; now she has changed through certain events that forced her to learn that being weak was like a beacon. She had no intention going back to the way she once was. No longer will she be the victim but the predator; she was the Rogue after all.

-

Magneto watched as Pyro brought the hooded figure into the large foyer. As their guest walked closer, he immediately noticed recognized the coat and his mind flashed back to the first meeting on the train. He had been after her gift so he could power up his machine. Now here she was, standing in front of him, no longer hiding behind anyone. He was still unsure on how she could evolve to a powerful being. Last he saw her was a couple of years ago where she was still having trouble controlling her gift.

As he walked towards her, he smiled warmly and spoke, "Welcome to the Brotherhood. Tired of playing peacemaker?"

"Something like that."

She lowered her hood after.

-

Callisto stood beside her fellow Marauders and listened to their guest, all the while determined to figure the identity before it was revealed. When she heard Magneto mention 'peacemaker,' she snorted and muttered to herself what did Xavier say to coerce some of the powerful mutants to his side. She didn't hate the guy but she always thought that man, being a genius and all, would have figured out a long time ago that humans despised everything a mutant stood for.

But no, Charles Xavier believed that humans and mutants can coexist together and achieve world peace. The man, who could easily rip a person's mind into shreds or control that being, chose to give humans a chance. _How many times is it going to take for him to realize his vision is impossible?_

As the guest lowered his hood, Callisto thought the figure to be some stuck-up, arrogant fool. It turns out quite the opposite and she was shocked along with the rest of them with the exception of Magneto, Sabretooth, and Pyro. She noticed the way their leader smiled warmly, which then led her to assume that they had encountered her before. Her…not him, their guest was of average build but beautifully gorgeous southerner. She had pale, smooth skin, guarded eyes, and one lone silver streak.

"You've come to the right side, Rogue." Magneto gestured at each of his followers and they nodded at her when he said their names. "You already know Pyro and Sabretooth. That leaves three recruits: Arclight, Quill, and Callisto."

The girl who once became Magneto's little guinea pig was back and on their side, but still a threat to her. While the others were easily convinced and manipulated, Rogue sang a different tune; she was unpredictable, a wild card, and she just couldn't be trusted. _I bet she's still a spy for them…_

-

John watched from behind, alongside with Victor, as Rogue revealed her identity to the rest of the occupants. After Eric had officially welcomed her to the Brotherhood, he told John to give their guest a tour of their headquarters. He did as he was told, gently touching Rogue's covered arm as he walked towards another area, with Rogue walking behind.

"Living room," he stated as he went pass the room which Rogue saw tattered couches with a decent television.

"Kitchen," she shook her head as dirty plates and utensils sat in the sink. "We mostly order takeout since none of us can cook."

They then walked up a flight of narrow stairs and walked through a very narrow, dimly lit corridor before stopping at the end. John pushed open the door and she stepped in. There wasn't much in there, just a bed, a dresser, a stool, and a nightstand. She dropped her duffel bag on the bed and sat on the edge of it. John took one glance at the empty corridor and figured he was not needed at Eric's side at the moment, went towards her with his hand closing the bedroom door with a touch.

He sat down gingerly on the other side of the bed and glanced her way. "Why were you heading towards the clinic?" He decided to start with the why and move on from there. She let out a soft sigh and stared at the wall for what seemed like an hour and replied vaguely, "I was waiting for you." She didn't tell him about the psyche in her mind; she didn't even know how to tell him that she had a voice in her head relaying instructions and their plans together in the future.

Confusion spread on his face, he frowned deeply, his eyebrows twitching, as he tried to understand her. "How did you know I was searching for you?" _How did she know I was going to be there in the first place?_

"I didn't," she silently hoped he wouldn't ask.

_Something's not right. Was there a leak?_ Eric mentioned it to him here in the office…along with Callisto and Victor.

He immediately got off the bed which creaked loudly in the tense room, and grabbed Rogue's shoulders firmly, making eye contact as he did so. "Who's your source? No one else knew about it."

She settled for glaring at him and replied tensely, "I figured someone was going to cause some trouble and you showed up. Problem solved."

His hands squeezed her harder and he bore down into her, putting as much pressure as he could. "Oh really? I'm not done…"

"Well, I'm done proving myself to you, of all people!"

Rogue had enough. She got up suddenly and flung her hand to rid herself of his accusing statement and his hands. Her shoulders were sore from his squeezing. She stood right in front of him, stance locked in a defensive mode, her arms tightly folded.

It was enough to send up a spark of suspicion and Pyro knew there was something up her sleeve. "What's that supposed to mean? Look at you, all riled up at one small question." He moved closer until their noses were almost touching. "I bet you're still with them all along. You gonna suck up to Magneto and run back to give juicy news to Daddy dearest?" With a flick of his lighter, he surrounded himself with hot, dangerous flames and smirked tauntingly.

-

Rogue felt first before she saw. Fire surrounded them both but she refused to give in.

"How dare you!" She hissed and the atmosphere in the room shifted drastically. "I left because Daddy dearest didn't like it when I broke his favorite pet," she said sickingly and her eyes took on a darker hue. "So get this straight, Johnny, because I ain't saying it twice. I ain't gonna stand here and take your crap."

A thick sheet of ice wrapped around her protectively against the hungry flames and covered the concrete floor behind and around her.

Fire vs. Ice

Pyro vs. Rogue

They stood standing, guarded and tense, with their elements at a standstill. It was as if time had stood still for them, and only them.

A knock startled the both of them out of their small little glaring contest. Pyro snapped his head so quickly at the intruder whereas Rogue merely tilted her head lazily at the sound.

-

The Asian marauder trudged up slowly to the guest room. Oh, why was he always sent around the headquarters doing odd jobs for everyone else? The first week was slow and torturing; he was minding his own business outside, taking a smoke. The hairy Magneto's bodyguard came up to him and gruffly ordered him to fix the leak in their so-called kitchen. He couldn't protest much and cursed himself for being so darn small. Callisto was out most of the time and Arclight was lounging in the living room. And as days passed on, he was ordered around by various members of the organization. Even the kid had dared to order him about, but he shot out sharp, poisonous spikes at his way. Quill scowled at the memory; the kid had managed to dodge every frigging one of them and left chuckling.

This time, he was sent by Magneto to fetch their newest recruit down for a chat. He knocked once and the door gave way – _great! Door's open too._ – to reveal two very pissed off class-four mutants: the kid glaring and her merely staring at him with an arch eyebrow. Oh and how could he forget to mention that they were standing literally with fire and ice surrounding each of them! He gulped and looked down and noticed a very faint circle of both scorch mark and frost outlining the. _At least, Mags didn't use any wood; room's a mess._

"Umm, Magneto wants to talk to you."

Pyro extinguished his flames and started towards the door but Quill sneered. "Not you, her."

Rogue smiled, nodded her thanks, and brushed past Pyro. She followed Quill behind, the frost still hanging onto her coat, leaving Pyro at her door.

---

**You know the drill. Let me know what you think.**


	2. Something More

**Disclaimer: I don't own X-Men!**

**Author's Note:** I revised it and made minor changes to it. It'd still be the same with the exception of changing names here and there. Very particular, sorry.

**Other Notes:**

"Saying"

'_Telepathic thoughts'_

_

* * *

Chapter 1:_

_"Umm, Magneto wants to talk to you."_

_Pyro extinguished his flames and started towards the door but Quill sneered. "Not you, her."_

_Rogue smiled, nodded her thanks, and brushed past Pyro. She followed Quill behind, the frost still hanging onto her coat, leaving Pyro at her door._

~w~

**Chapter Two: Something More**

Rogue enters the den and Magneto looked up. "Come in, child. I understand you've had a long journey so I'll cut to the chase."

She nods and said, "I supposed you want to know how I became a class-five?"

"Yes. You see, at first I assumed it to be Jean Grey, one of the most powerful mutants."

Rogue looked down as her hands busied themselves at her frosted gloves. "I accidentally knocked her out during one of her sessions. She was helping me control my curse."

A relief spread through her; never had she been so open to anyone after the incident, and of all people, she had told Magneto the happenings inside the walls of the Xavier's Institute.

"Interesting," he said while twiddling his thumbs, "It appears that your absorption of Jean's abilities has caused your gift to evolve. I'm sure you must be having a headache with all those voices swimming in your head."

A pause and Rogue smiled, "Not anymore, there are no more voices in my mind. I am at peace with myself and there isn't anyone up there to interrupt this silence I am going to continue to maintain."

Magneto was surprised. Was it another transformation that effected the change? He thought. "No more voices?"

"None."

"And Jean has helped you with that too?"

"No, I did it by myself with some help from you and the other voices I've absorbed. I merged them to become a part of me," she replied, noting Magneto's surprised reaction.

"This is really interesting. You do know this can have some serious ill effects…" He warned her, as much as he was happy for her transformation. He wanted her to be careful; she was about the same age as his children after all.

She acknowledged his warning. "I do, but after the merging, I felt so complete, like something missing was found and I feel so much more powerful, confident, and surer of where I'm heading."

"And where is that, my dear?"

Rogue smirked at him. "On the right side, of course, with you."

Turning to walk out, Magneto sat back, relaxed, on his comfortable throne, and asked, "I think you'll enjoy your stay here but there is one more thing I need to know. Does Xavier know of this… new predicament?"

Rogue laughed and turned only her head, eyes taking a darker tint of red, "Not in the slightest," and strode out of his den.

Eric noticed immediately when Rogue turned and his eyes fixated on her eyes taking on that familiar red tint. He couldn't help but wonder if the changes were taking effect on her mentally since he doubt she had noticed the changes herself. He needed to keep an eye on her as seeing her transformed to this dangerous woman was not what he had expected. Unpredictable, yes he was fine on that. She was quite good at it, but predator-wise, not really.

So absorbed in his thoughts on Rogue, he was startled when the cloaked figure hidden in the shadows made himself known, "She's clean."

He muttered, "It still is a surprise. Jean…"

"Is in a coma; my source says her vital signs are stable and she won't be waking up any time soon which means no more interruptions by them. It's going to be a straight, easy ride."

Eric chuckled. "Oh no, I think we will encounter some of them, if not all. When it comes to Xavier, nothing ever stops that man and his puppets from interfering."

He looked at some of the documents lying before him on his desk. "How are they, by the way?"

The man fidgeted on the spot. "Let's see. Mystique has quite the habit of wandering in the house, nude as daylight. Your daughter is too happy that there is another female in the house and going on shopping sprees. Your son hates being cooped up in the house with two females and wants a lot more action."

Eric laughed heartily and the images popped into his head after he had finished describing them. "Well, I've sent him on more errand jobs than before. I'm sure he's feeling contented on not having to spend his whole day stuck with them."

The man huffed impatiently. "Apparently, he wants more action on the front lines."

Eric sighed. "We've already discussed this. I can't have him on the front lines. It's too soon."

"The X-Men are goners. They took a mega blow when Grey is out of action."

"And that doesn't mean we should instantly show our hand immediately," Eric replied.

The cloaked figure fumed and then bored glaring hot eyes at the back of the leader's head.

"Glaring won't change my mind." Eric chuckled, knowing full well of the child's antics.

Said child groaned and whipped his hood back, revealing a pale, young blond whose hair is slicked back with aristocrat eyes. "Aw, c'mon dad. Let me have some action too. I'm tired of sitting in the back when they get to do all the work." Even Pyro has more action than I do, he bitterly thought.

"Even in the background, the front lines need them. Imagine our lives are on a stage, the three of you are my backstage crew. Sure, the actors get the most action acting from the script but who's in charge of the lighting, special effects, and to close the curtain? You are, Preto. You may not have all the action but you have the most important role, child. I need you on the sidelines for a while. I need you to be my eyes and ears while my back is turned."

"I understand, dad. You still don't trust her, Callisto. Am I right?"

Eric smiled, pleased that he caught on easily. "She's easily replaceable."

"She is useful in certain situations…"

Preto rolled his eyes. "I can get you more and better recruits than she does."

"I know you can, child. But there is something I want to obtain from her without knowing and after that…" he trailed off. "Have some patience. Your time will come."

Eric rose out of his comfy leather armrest and was about to head out of his den when a thought occurred to him. He didn't turn around but voiced his question. "By the way, did you mention who your source is?"

Preto grinned unbeknownst to his father and replied, "I never did."

"And if I may ask who…"

"Just someone who supports our cause."

Eric opened the door and muttered, "I do hope you know what you are doing."

The door closed softly with a click. "Goodnight Father," Preto said softly, pulled up his hood, and pressed his palm against the cool metal at the corner of the wall. The wall revealed a thin, hidden passage leading the way out of the headquarters. He emerged out of the hidden passage which closed itself after he got out. In front of him was a long hedge with a narrow opening. He was about to squeeze through the hedge but saw a dark blur passing him by quickly. Such a blur like that only had one mutant who had a similar gift as he did, Callisto, it seems that she was heading east in a hurry.

Preto wanted very much to follow her but knew he had no hunting skills to track her down or to cover his tracks either if she noticed someone stalking her. While still debating what to do, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Sabretooth at the back, taking a long drag of his cigar before following in the same path as she went.

When the coast was finally clear, he sped off in the opposite direction, leaving the headquarters unnoticed.

~w~

Morning came and soon night followed. Days flew by as the Brotherhood recruited more mutants. Those who had useful talents joined the ranks with the three Marauders and Rogue, while the rest camped outside of the headquarters, securing the perimeter. The Brotherhood had three ranks: the outer circle mostly consists of class-one and two mutants which Magneto found their skills little use in his battle plan. Those were his army, should the military use to launch the weapon at them. They would go first. Second rank consists of Quill, Multiple Man, Arclight, Juggernaut, Pyro, Rogue, and Callisto. Callisto was in charge of the second rank. Last of all, the top of the ranks consisted of Magneto and his trusted friend, Sabretooth. However, there were three more additions which no one knew. In total, they made five, a formidable group.

Callisto smirked when she was chosen over both Rogue and Pyro, who merely rolled her eyes lazily while he fumed quietly. Rogue never wanted to fight with her but it seems whenever they were alone, the tattooed mutant would always challenge her to a fight. They have never officially fought each other, with Rogue backing out until last week.

_Flashback:_

One week ago, the five of them headed out into one of the denser parts of the woods to practice sparring with each other. The group consisted of everyone but Magneto and Quill who had slunk off somewhere. She couldn't be bothered with him. The moment they reached the clearing, Callisto sped off, leaving the four behind. The others too quickly followed her example, separating their ways.

An hour passed and then short bursts of fire balls came into Callisto's sight. She was preparing to launch her attack at the boy but realized she was not his intended target but at the other Marauder. Arclight dodged them easily and fired her own electromagnetic waves at him. The two attacked each other from a range while dodging the other's attacks.

Callisto decided to move on to another spot, deciding that Rogue was nowhere to be found. She soon found fresh tracks of her opponent a few hours later and was quite surprised she managed to cover her tracks. A soft rustle alerted the Marauder and her eyes darted to the direction of the denser populated dark woods. Another crunch coming in from the left led her wondering if she was being stalked by both the girl and the Saber dude. _He's probably just watching_. She knew the he and Magneto were discussing on a captain to lead the others. This was her chance to prove that she was the one to be it, not the girl nor the kid. She watched her left closely, as the sounds were coming closer; she crouched down and tensed, planning to trip her.

Oh, it was a great plan but not the mutant she was expecting. It revealed Sabretooth coming out of the shadows, taking a long drag from the cigar, and looking down at her. Her eyes widened too comically when she realized that he wasn't Rogue. _Then that means…shit!_ She had no time to turn and intercept her opponent as she was launched into the air by some kind of powerful force. She looked down to find Rogue looking like she wanted to be anywhere but with her. As she plummets down and having nothing to grab to slow herself down from the inevitable, she had no choice but watched Rogue make a fist at her.

Callisto groaned painfully as a telekinetic force punched her hard in the gut and upwards again. She was falling faster than before and noticed the girl had taken on a different kind of look. Eyes black as night, she didn't look bored nor was she grinning. Callisto watched as the younger mutant looked up at her, impassively before raising her left hand slowly. _What is she doing?_ When she started to gasp for air, she realized that Rogue was cutting off her air supply. She struggled in mid-air as the fingers slowly inched together.

Just as she was about to pass out from a lack of oxygen, the pressure stopped but the grip remained. She looked down carefully, being as still as possible, in hopes that Rogue would think she had lost consciousness. She found Rogue holding up a force field against Pyro's powerful flames. Sabretooth was leaning against a tree, still watching the fight. They seemed to be talking but she couldn't hear, being stuck in the air.

The more Pyro put his focus into shattering her shield, the more Rogue would concentrate to hold her force field up, but soon she forgot all about Callisto, who was able to wiggle out of the grip which had begun to loosen. She landed on the ground with a loud, sickening crash. She began taking huge gulps oxygen but felt relieved that Rogue hasn't taken any notice. She watched as Pyro put more fire power and blasted a strong burst of flames, which took on the appearance of a dragon and shattered her shield completely and at the same time, knocked her off her feet. _Finally! My turn. _

Callisto grinned at the opportunity and launched herself on Rogue before she had a chance to recover. In her excitement and haste, she forgot completely about Rogue's own defensive power. Her fist collided with Rogue's cheek and it stuck fast. Callisto paled as she was drained whereas Rogue groaned when the Marauder's voice interrupted her peace of mind. She staggered back and leaned back the tree for support, hand cradling her head, as she fought to lock the new intruder up.

Callisto was a few meters away from Rogue, on her knees panting after the aftermath. Pyro was within sight of them but made no move to attack. He too was tired from the sparring. Arclight walked into the burnt clearing with a limp. Then a clap and all heads turned as Sabretooth walked in the middle of the clearing blocking Rogue's and Pyro's heated glaring. He then started to praise them all the while criticizing their strategies. He told Arclight that she needed more work on strategy-wise; Pyro that he cannot afford to be tired after that one little battle with Callisto and Rogue; Callisto that she needed more work on covering her ground; and Rogue that she needed more work in balancing her efforts on multiple targets.

_End flashback._

Looking back, Callisto has been more wary of the younger. She may seem harmless but Callisto knew likewise. Anyways, even if Rogue proved to be more of a challenging obstacle, Callisto knew her weakness even though she refused to admit it – Pyro. Ever since Rogue joined, a lot of tension revolved mostly between him and Rogue. She didn't know what was going on with the two of them and she doesn't care about their squabble.

He wanted power, she promised him that if he joined her side. He wanted sex; she gave him that easily as long as he was on her side. To her, it was just business.

~w~

To him, it was just a ploy – an act to catch her. At first, John was a bit reluctant at the plan Victor had came up with because he didn't want to sour the shaky friendship he had with Rogue. But as days went pass and the attitude she had, which he put up with, he followed with the plan. He acted as if they had a real breakup and sought for the nearest, most unlikely source of comfort, Callisto. He laughed and made snide remarks with her.

The reactions he received, minus Eric and Victor, were strangely comforting. Arclight, either she didn't care or she was fine with it, regarded him impassively whenever he passed by her. Quill just stared at them, slack-jawed, and the best emotion he received from Rogue, jealously. He hoped the faster they figure out what Callisto was hiding, the sooner he could make up with her, well… that is if her bad attitude fades away.

~w~

Callisto found Rogue in one of the headquarters' corridor, who appeared to be in deep concentration, no doubt. She called for Rogue's attention and said person turned around, masking her confusion. "You see, Pyro and I…fear you might be going off the deep end, talking to yourself. Magneto doesn't trust you or else he would have given you a higher position on the squad," Callisto prowled towards her slowly whereas Rogue gave her best Is-that-the-best-you-can-do look and feigned boredom. "He probably wants to satisfy you, being the eager puppy you are." Callisto growled in irritation and changed tactic. "You're just a spy for the X-Men. Pyro and Magneto may believe your pity story but it doesn't change things."

"The same pick-up line? C'mon Callisto, you can do better." Rogue purred sweetly at her, pushing her in the corner and blocking her from exiting the very small escape route. Tables are turned and Callisto blinked, wondering how she didn't see that coming. Rogue continues her assault, pulling off her glove with her teeth; she proceeded to start from the older woman's jugular with her index finger, which slowly made its way down. Past her breasts to her taut stomach that was protected by Callisto's tank-top and back up her arm, where this time Rogue activated her power, lightly pulling against her bare arm. "How is Pyro doing by the way? Do you think you can satisfy him?"

"I know he's got the hots for me…" Rogue trailed off and raised her tank-top, revealing that sexy taut stomach. Callisto hitched a gasp as Rogue's finger made contact with her skin, causing her to gasp for breath each time Rogue pulled with her ability. "How does that feel? Do you want more?" Callisto tried to formulate her answer, but was past the stage of thinking. She buckled helplessly under the younger mutant's touch.

"Ahem," came from behind Rogue who already knew he had been watching them for some time. She continued to make circles on Callisto's stomach whilst craning her head a bit to see Pyro leaning against the wall sideways, arms folded with a smirk on his lips. "Didn't know you go both ways, Rogue." She smirked in return and stopped her ministrations, leaving Callisto falling to the floor. She sauntered her way towards Pyro, who raised one arched eyebrow as Rogue cheekily put her finger in her mouth and replied, "I see why you chose her. She is fantastic to tease, though I think you need to lay off the more intense stuff."

Pyro knew exactly what Rogue was implying. He had tried a couple of nights ago playing with fire on her and it still left a mark near the top of her right breast. Rogue wasn't finished; she tucked her lone silver streak behind her ear and murmured. "She can't heal as fast as I do, and I've got Logan's stamina. So whenever you're bored, hook me up. We can do it for all night long." She left them and skipped a couple of steps even, her eyes flashing red.

~w~

Rogue was furious, actually she was past mad. Having seen him all over Callisto and them kissing… she couldn't handle being in the same building as they were. She often leaves the headquarters the moment the sun rose and only comes back after it sets. If Magneto didn't need her, she was out and about. Most of the time, she would retreat to one of darker, deeper parts of the woods for comfort, where she plans most of her time meditating.

She sought comfort and stability through the psyche friend of hers. They would talk endlessly on general conversations. She never asks him about his personal issues, having found out the hard way, he would abruptly leave her during one of their sessions. Rogue discovered he likes having his way due to the many arguments that have taken place in which he had left her alone when he didn't like where it was going. Many times, she had taken her anger out on the trees and various animals around her.

She had once, obliterated every tree and animal due to her anger, and in midst of merging Callisto into her. The memory of her brought back many old ones she had locked up: Bobby and Kitty, Logan and Jean, Logan and Storm, and other old crushes she had in her past. The aftermath of the woods now turned into a clearing, similar to the one she had fought in with the others. _Why can't I get hold of my emotions? _Rogue knew something amiss; she begun feeling more and more short-tempered and lost control easily. Also, there were times when she woke up on the forest floor, with grass in her hair to prove it. Did she really fallen asleep, she couldn't remember.

_I thought I was meditating… Did I take a nap?_ At first, she had chalked up with the forest being very peaceful. Now she wasn't as sure as she was before. _What is happening to me?

* * *

_

_Notes: Before you get confused and wonder what the heck is she doing. I'm sort of back – not really but I'm going to make some revisions in certain chapters here and there. I think it is mostly due to posting without full revising._

_Rogue thinks she has full control of her abilities after the merge, but she doesn't. Hence the memory loss…_

_I will not be giving you a little bit of my notes every time I post a chapter. Who knows I might suddenly hand you a very important information and voila, my next chapter is ruined. x3_

_I'm not sure if I can handle writing a romance between our two favorite characters, so I'm going to change the romance to general, just so to stop torturing future readers into thinking this is a romance story. It's not my cup of tea, and I'm more adept to writing angst stories._

_If you have any questions you would like answered, feedback, comments, flamers... (hmm), put them in your reviews and I will be delighted in answering them._


	3. Domination

**Disclaimer: Having an awesome playtime with Marvel's X-Men dollies! They will be returned in one piece (hopefully) in the end.**

**Author's Note:** I accidentally deleted the original chapter 3 and forgot to export the document. So the contents might vary somewhat, since I have to re-write the chapter and then I discovered I couldn't just insert a chapter 3… This chapter will be a double chapter, revised ^^

I won't keep you from my silly mistakes, enjoy!

**Summary:** _[For those who will be confused because I am combining two chapters into one very confusing plot. Do try your best to follow.]_ Xavier attempts to search Rogue's whereabouts, Rogue has a mission, and desperate attempt of manipulation is involved; a Brotherhood member gains knowledge and more…

* * *

**Chapter Three & Four: Unbelievable Domination**

_3:25am_

Everyone slept fitfully with pleasant dreams in their respective rooms with the exception of Charles Xavier. Even since Rogue had ran away, he started having repeated haunting dreams of her to the point he starts to believe they were more of a hallucination. At first, it begins with Rogue sitting in her usual spot near the window, daydreaming away. Slowly and steadily, the hallucination seeped into his dreams and progressed at a rapid and violent rate.

The ending was always the same – Rogue standing over Jean's decaying corpse, sucking her life out. Charles tried to shut his eyes but some unyielding force compelled him to watch every detail in slow motion, her purple veins bulging, her eyes wide and her mouth agape in a silent scream.

Rogue snaps her eyes up to Charles and he paled at the red irises. He should have known the Phoenix would take control of Marie. It was his entire fault; if he hadn't locked it up, if he took the time to teach Jean how to control, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

"Don't let it take control, R-" He was cut off by her cold haughty reply.

"You teach your students how to gain control but yet you hold them back. You never taught her to harness her full potential. You decide to take it into your own hands and lock **me** away."

"I've seen the result. You are the epitome of destruction."

"YOU. AREN'T. GOD!" At each word was punctuated with venom, Rogue squeezed Jean's throat tightly and dropped her dead body. The moment the corpse no longer recognizable hits the marble floor, it disintegrates into dust.

The sudden turn of events caused Charles to bolt up immediately and saw a lingering of Phoenix-Rogue walking past him. He switched on a nearby lamp only to find her gone. The digital clock now read 3:33am.

He sighed heavily and routinely put a robe on to visit a comatose Jean.

~w~

_Outside_

Under the illuminated moonlight, the ironclad spike gate separated two hooded figures who were whispering back and forth.

"So how did I do?"

"He was pleased." The blond smiled at him.

"…Okay, so when can I leave?" The younger one asked the other from within the inside of the gates.

"Tomorrow night, same time. Be ready," he replied.

* * *

_8:45am_

Five hours later, after one too many cups of coffee, Charles resolved to find Rogue through the means of Cybero. The oval-shaped metal dim-like structure disappeared to display a map of the world. He concentrated and the map narrowed itself to display the United States continent with both red and white dots cluttered together. The white dots faded, leaving the remaining reds behind. He thought of Rogue as the young woman who was brought to the Institute a couple of years ago to the woman they have wronged in the last few weeks.

For four days straight, Charles tried searching for her signature and each time proved unsuccessful. He could not locate her. At first, he suspected she had joined the Brotherhood. However, each time Magneto made a public appearance, she wasn't by his side. Later, he figured she must have traveled south to start afresh, but search came up empty. It was as if she fell off the grid.

~w~

Saturday morning passed by fairly quickly with the occupants busying themselves with activities indoors and outdoors. The mansion was once again filled with energetic, cheerful feeling. The Danger Room had most of the younger generation of the X-Men occupying the room, having fun with the usual training routine.

Bobby and Kitty were working out together against Pyro. Spike was in the middle, wiping the floor against Quill while Ororo was hovering over Callisto and Jubilee, who was trying to assist Ororo in cornering the speedster. Logan and Hank were attempting to tackle Magneto in the far end whilst Scott was soloing Arclight on his own.

Charles sat in the control room, watching from above. He noticed that Blake, and…what's-his-name were not present at all. He checked the log and found Uriel on the roster. He was a Class 3 and had no code name. Charles checked his details and found that he had taken him in, a year ago.

Speaking of which…

~w~

In the boys' dormitory rooms, Blake found his friend…packing? "You're leaving?"

"Yea, sorry but I can't stay…and I don't know how to explain," Uriel said at Blake's hard glare.

He blocked the doorway and said calmly, arms folded. "Start from the beginning."

Uriel ignored him and continued to pack his possessions away. "What's there to say? Xavier took me in, gave me control, and now that I'm in control, moving on."

"You're not joining the X-Men?"

"It's voluntary, you know…" Uriel looked up to meet Blake's eyes. The room was now devoid of any sign that anyone lived here. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not leaving right away."

Blake scoffed. "Sneaking off the same way Rogue did…huh?"

"Why not? Nobody really knows me. They won't miss me." Uriel pushed past the blond and walked down the hallway with Blake strolling behind.

They passed by the infirmary, which Uriel turned his head to notice that there were no patients. The clean, white room was too neat. "Where's Dr. Grey?"

Blake smirked and strolled casually inside. Uriel followed, noticing his stride. He looked more confident. "What are you doing? We might get caught." He watched uneasily as his friend picked up the medical instruments and glanced at them, before walking further in. Not wanting to get caught along with his curiosity getting the better of him, he followed Blake in more until they were hidden behind a screen.

Blake jumped on the pristine infirmary bed and stretched out like he had just awakened from a nap. "Hey! What are you doing? Someone might see us!" He hissed at Blake who chuckled loudly.

"You know, for a spy, you suck at sneaking around."

"Well, it's not…Wait…What?"

Blake said calmly, "Chill, dude. I'm not going to give you away. I knew you were some sort of a spy ever since you arrived. You fool everyone else; you can't fool me."

Uriel stared at him for a minute. "So…that's why you made friends with me. What's your purpose? Keep me an eye on me? Rat me out?"

"One, you were always alone and you're different from the rest. Two, neither; I'm your friend." Blake ticked his fingers off and had his cocky smile on.

"I'm your enemy. Why would you help me?" Uriel asked, confused.

"We're enemies? Strange, I didn't get the memo."

Uriel repeated his question. If he didn't get a straight answer, he had no choice but to shut his only friend up. He mentally prepared himself to call the spirits swirling around.

"Relax, would you? I'm helping you…well because I'm bored. Ever since she left, this place got too boring and depressing."

"You think this is a game?" _We're at war._ He asked incredulously.

Blake nodded seriously, all traces of humor disappeared. He sat up immediately. "Don't you think so? We each have our own side. Xavier is white and Magneto is black. We are just his knights." At Uriel's confusion, he added, "It's chess, silly."

"Who are the pawns?"

The blond stared at the red-head as if he sprouted another head. "Humans…Soldiers: they make up the frontlines."

Uriel sighed and lowered himself on the bed. He thought he had fooled everyone; he took up the timid, shy personae which shied away from all attention. When Blake wanted to make friends with him, he had thought the blond had taken pity or thought he would be his sidekick. He never thought Blake was watching him all along.

He glanced back at Blake who had once again taken the entire bed, leaving a bit of room of him to sit. "I assume who know what happened to Dr. Grey?"

"You mean, I know where she is? Of course, I know almost everything and everyone here. I will tell you on one condition."

"Which is?"

His friend merely raised his eyebrow and did his trademark smirk.

"I want in."

* * *

_The Brotherhood_

Rogue was woken up rudely from the harsh afternoon sun. She found herself in another clearing. _What am I doing here?_

Having no recollection of yesterday's events, she trudged back to the headquarters, brushing stray leaves out of her hair and clothing. She headed to her room and swore she'd heard moaning and grunting ahead. She grumbled and slammed her door loudly. _Oh, for Pete's sake! Do it somewhere else._

"Aaaaahhhh!" She screamed in frustration. _Someone please give me a job! Anything! I don't care what it is, as long as I get out of this place!_

She stalks angrily back downstairs and was about to head to the living room, when Magneto swung open the doors on cue and invited her in. "Ah, just the person I was looking for."

Rogue stopped in mid-stride, confused and entered the den. He gestured towards the seat and as she sat, he handed her a yellow file.

"I have a job for you." She flipped the file open and noticed the Marauder's name and mug shot on it.

She frowned at the tattooed Marauder and glanced at Magneto confusedly. "Your orders?"

"She has something I want. Get me the contact and she's all yours." He clasped his hands together and met her eyes.

"Can you do it, Rogue? Prove to me that you are capable. Show me that I can trust you and that you are not working with Charles behind my back."

She nodded and said, "And after that, I can do anything I want with her?"

He confirmed with a nod. "It shall be done. You can count on me." Rogue stood up confidently and gave a sharp nod to him.

~w~

John flopped back on the bed and watched her. He was bored. Why was he subjected to this? Oh yeah, to get out information of her… He made a mental note to never go with any of Vic's plans ever again. Sure, the sex was great but there was no foreplay. Everything was a blur during sex and afterwards, nothing.

Besides, all they got out of her was her adventures with her other companions. She told him about the tattoo when he asked her about it. "Omega," she explained. "It signifies the end of things. We are not the X-Men. We only protect our kind." He hanged around her, hoping he could pull the info out of her. Pulling the act was actually a lot harder than he thought. He had to convince her by ignoring Rogue.

He would sidle up to Callisto and made up stories about Rogue. She lapped them up eagerly and if she threw an insult at Rogue, he added more fuel to the fire. He wondered if he was doing the right thing, breaking this already shaky friendship they shared. Was this worth the trouble?

There was something wrong with her yet it kept slipping from his tongue. When he saw Rogue teasing her, he observed her demeanor shifted subtly as if there was another personality taking control. _Didn't Magneto say she no longer has voices in her head?_

He called her back to bed but was ignored as she threw his jeans at him. "Get out of bed, ya lazy bum! It's already two."

"Big deal!"

She rolled her eyes and reached for the door. "Whatever. I'll be back later."

"Hey! Wait!"

~w~

Rogue waited patiently in the abandoned alley on top of an apartment roof. She had browsed through Callisto's memories and discovered that she came here frequently. Having found nothing unusual in the dark alley, she decided to wait for her target. The wait paid off as she saw the target arrived at the scene.

She watched as Callisto checked her surroundings and deemed that the coast was clear. She opened the sewer entrance and disappeared through it. Rogue gave her a head start and scaled down the building quietly. She stared at the dark entrance way before shrugging and jumping down.

She wandered around in the maze of sewer before hearing quick footsteps ahead. She slinked nearer towards the voices, which she discovered to be two set of voices whispering hurriedly. She crouched low, hidden in the shadows. At that range, she was able to hear the entire exchange and stayed low as Callisto sped past her. Rogue waited till the footsteps fade softly and stood up slowly.

"Rogue, isn't it?"

She turned slowly to face a bald albino man, sitting on a crate. "Who are you?"

"Caliban at your service. You are Rogue, formerly class three, has the ability to absorb a person's life force, memories, and powers if it's a mutant. Your mutation manifested in Mississippi, stayed at the Xavier's Institute for two years, and joined the Brotherhood a month ago."

Rogue took a step back, surprised. "Y-You've been tracking me all these years? Why did you say former class three?"

"I knew you were coming and you are going to play an important role the moment you chose a side. You are the turning tide. Now, a class four, not a class five. You have got a long way to go if you plan to be powerful. The absorption of Jean Grey's Phoenix evolved your gift. You have regenerative healing factor, superhuman senses, magnetism manipulation, ice manipulation, telekinesis, telepathy, and superhuman speed."

"What are you? A live version of Cerebro?" She muttered loudly.

He laughed. "You could say that. I think you should head back. It's half-past eight."

"Damn!"

~w~

Rogue sped back to the headquarters and into their leader's den. She threw down the report triumphantly. "All in a day's work!" She exclaimed proudly at Magneto, who smiled and asked for the contact. She gave him the details, explaining that she made a contract with said mutant. She rested her hand on top of the chair and asked, "So…do I get my reward now?"

Once he inclined his head in approval and silent praise, she stretched and left the room in search of her prey. She found Callisto rummaging in her room. With superhuman speed, Rogue quietly shut her door and sped towards her dessert. Before Callisto had the time to register the door shutting, she found herself pinned to the wall with Rogue successfully trapping her in the corner.

"Looking for something…or should I say someone?"

Callisto felt her mouth run dry as Rogue looked at her up and down appreciatory. She heard Rogue whisper in her ear, "Now I know why Johnny went after you." She licked her earlobe and felt Callisto involuntary shiver in anticipation.

She continued to explore the sexy, delicious meal before her. She trailed her tongue all the way from her neck to her naval. Rogue, hungrier than ever, forced Callisto's lips open with her tongue, gaining easy access. She moaned in excitement and fear as Rogue proceeded to dominate her.

* * *

_X-Institute_

With most of the members tucked away in the dining area or relaxing in the recreation room, Charles donned on the helmet-like device for the fifth time. As the doors hissed shut, lights dimmed and the holographic map reappeared, displaying the very same red dots in various locations. He focused all his energy into locating her.

* * *

_The Brotherhood_

"Ahem!"

Rogue stopped her ministration on the ebony mutant as she turned to find Johnny at the doorway, amused. Callisto tried to push her away but realized her arms were restrained by a telekinetic force, leaving her vulnerable.

"Hey Johnny," Rogue purred and John observed her alluring, confident posture and wondered if this was the real side of her that was hidden all the time since the time they spent together with Drake.

"Stealing my girlfriend?" John retorted, striding towards the pair.

She appeared confused with a smile gracing her lips. "Steal…? I would never." She gasps and smirk quickly, "I don't see your name." He watched as she pretended to look over Callisto, and decided to help her out.

He yanked the front of Callisto's tank-top and for effect; Rogue mumbled an "ohh" as the phrase "all mine" in his handwriting burned onto the top of her left breast. Using her index fingertip, she traced the words, leaving a tiny trail of frost behind.

Her grin grew predator-like and both irises lit red for a few seconds before fading. Callisto paled at the sight and her fear became paramount. Rogue turned her head to John and tilted towards her slightly.

"Share?"

* * *

_X-Institute_

Hours flew past and there was no mutant with her signature turning up. It was just like one of the many wasted nights. When he was about to concede defeat, he was alerted to a small cluster of the region where the Brotherhood was rumored to be. He zoomed for a closer look and was surprised to see three red dots tightly squeezed together in such that it was like a fat dot instead. Three names popped up on the side: the mutant in question and two brotherhood members – a former X-Men member and Callisto, Omega member and was also the mutant who put him in this wheelchair.

* * *

_The Brotherhood_

Their hands explored each other's body hungrily for more. The trio stumbled onto the bed with Rogue being on top, Callisto underneath, and John positioned directly behind Rogue's wet, slick opening.

Callisto fear subsided as she moaned loudly at the younger woman's ministration and her sharp nails clawed at her back, causing Rogue to kiss her harder and her right hand slipped inside the tattooed ebony's top and pinched her nipple hard. Watching two very hot and incredible sexy women go at it, John positioned his raging hard-on member and slipped deeply. He moaned and bit into Rogue's shoulder. "So tight."

Callisto felt as if she was literally lit on fire and she didn't want this to end. She became increasingly hungry for more. _Damn, this is girl is good. So god damn sexy_! She couldn't recall anyone who could turn her on, and Rogue hadn't touched below her naval yet she was already leaking like a faucet. Guys became boring real fast; they just fuck and once they were spent, it was over. This… this was different! The sex was the same but this feeling was a strange calm washing through her. Whatever this gorgeous beauty did, she sparked a fire in her and she never wanted that fire to die out.

With Callisto being totally oblivious lost in ecstasy, the pair was fucking in sync with each respective element clashing and fusing together. Orange flames raged and clashed with harsh spikes of ice and yet the icicles did not melt and the fire was still burning at its core. He was reaching his peak, and so was she.

As Callisto kissed harder and grinded against Rogue faster, that was when it happened. She suddenly felt energized and weak at the same time. All that energy was waning and her head was pounding. She tried to break free to no avail but the other wasn't having any of that and held on tighter.

The rushing feeling came back at full drive and Rogue felt high and giddy like she had too much to drink. As she squeezed the remaining life-force out of Callisto, she mentally sent a message to her. _[You are all mine.]_ At the same time, John had also reached his peak and spilled his spunk inside that tight ass while screaming her name. The process was completed in five minutes and she collapsed next to the dead body, still riding the effects of her absorption and orgasm.

It took a full three minute recovery for her to return back to reality. John had already removed his member out of her and was massaging her breasts and nipping at her collarbone. She glanced down at Callisto's shriveled body and mutters to herself. "I want a new room."

"What was that?"

Rogue turned her attention to him and kissed him fully, "I love you."

* * *

Elsewhere and miles away, Charles was about to freeze the screen to make a copy to show his team when a new notification popped out. Curiously, he opened it and the screen refreshed to display two red dots on the map. The third was gone and Charles had an odd feeling that he knew the answer to. Quickly, he froze the screen results and sent it to print in his office. He was definitely going to have an all members mandatory meeting. No one is supposed to be left out.

~w~

"What's he doing here?"

"Umm…he wants to join." Uriel ran his hair through his messy hairdo. The cloaked figure, outside the gates, shook his head. "I didn't expect you to get another recruit."

The blond interrupted. "Hey dude! Next time you want a spy, you should get someone else better. I knew he was a spy all along."

"And…you're not telling?"

"He thinks it's a game and we should arm ourselves with popcorn." Uriel interrupted sarcastically.

"What's your name again?" The white cloaked asked.

"Blake, dude." He grinned cockily and made a short display of his gift.

The cloaked person nodded his approval. _Father will be proud. _"Climb over, boys. Make it snappy."

Blake helped his friend over the towering wall and as Uriel bent down to lend a hand, he shook his head. "I'm not coming."

"Why not? Didn't you say you wanted to join too?" he whispered, careful not to fall over.

"Too suspicious. Xavier's going to notice something sooner or later. Best you go now, Uriel. Someone's coming."

Uriel adamantly tried to climb back down but Blake threw his bag up with such a force, it shoved him off and he landed next to the white cloaked guy.

Blake pressed his face between the gates and grinned. "Next time we meet, bro, it'd be on the battlefield. Nice knowing you." He ran quickly back inside.

"That's…an interesting friend, you got there," was his mentor's only comment.

* * *

The very next day, Charles called for a meeting in the Danger Room surprisingly. Most found the location strange; why the Danger Room and why not in his office instead? Nevertheless, they all gathered, wondering what their leader has planned. Charles gave a rather short, vague yet grave speech and the hologram projector flashed the members of the Brotherhood in a single line which everyone knew about until… at the very end of the line stood a familiar face.

The professor proceeded to watch his team split at the seams as their reactions turn to downright shock and disbelief, all except three people. Scott had a passive guarded look and the teenager which he was brought in, Blake, had suspicion written all over. Warren looked confused and Charles already knew that. Logan was the first to react and the sight of her shook him out of his stupor, "NO! No way. No, just no. I'm not doing this."

Bobby interjected. "That's not like her. She hates Magneto after all the things he has done-"

Charles explained to his team about Jean's extreme personality he had locked down in the deepest recess of her mind. As he told them about the Phoenix's full height of power and the potential destruction it could cause, he could almost hear its snide voice commenting. _[Why don't you just tell them you're using them to fix your own mistake, old man? You think you can bring Marie back and do what exactly? Lock me back in the cage?]_

He dismissed them before he really lost it. He felt her physically next to him, laughing airily. _[You'll never catch me. Because of you, I am free to go anywhere I want, do whatever I want, and kill whoever that stands in my way.]_

~w~

Somewhere else, in the basement sat the Blackbird and other vehicles. Scott Summers was busy working on his prized motorcycle. As he tinkered away, he thought back on the meeting. He had been taken back when the Professor had spun him around. _Don't you want to avenge her? _Vengeance was the last thing on his mind; he was worried about Rogue. Was it true that she left them for the Brotherhood? Were we that bad to cast her out, to avoid her when she made a mistake? If she accidentally absorbed another student, would we have overlooked it? Scott knew the answer: If she did absorb another mere student, we wouldn't have bothered her to such a degree that left her the option to leave.

He would not believe Xavier that she left for the Brotherhood on her own accord, not unless he'd seen her with his own eyes. Why wasn't he with the others in the Danger Room training? He wanted to be left alone. After Xavier had shown the Brotherhood members and had debriefed them, Scott wondered if he was just as power-hungry as Magneto was. The only difference they had were their methods.

He knew he should not think like that, after all it was the Professor who had given him a home and helped him control his gift. But to think, Charles Xavier built his team mostly consisting of children to lead. He taught them to control and not be afraid of their gifts, gave them food and shelter, in exchange for their services. If he wanted an army, he already got one. Children willing to serve him; they see him as an idol for he took them in when they have nowhere else to go. He was truly a manipulative, cunning man. Scott knew his dream to co-exist with humans was quite impossible to reach, but it lead him to think, was that what he really wanted or was there another hidden mission, like creating an army under the government's nose?

Magneto, however, shows the truth through more violent methods due to his childhood past. Both the Professor and Magneto were once friends, what drove them apart other than Xavier's adamant goal? Scott didn't want to know. Were they on the right side? He believed it was.

~w~

Logan was ransacking the kitchen for his secret six-pack beer and any kid with a decent amount of common sense knew when it was best to leave the Wolverine in one of his moods without being flayed alive. Blake cautiously entered the room, having been warned several times not to enter. He took note of the furniture sliced cleanly in half, broken glass pieces of what used to be the remnants of Ororo's beautiful vase. He stepped onto a small piece of glass and froze as Logan stopped his rummaging.

Blake inwardly cursed himself as he held his hands out and slowly stumbled backwards, taking care not to step on any more glass shards. He really did have his sister's recklessness. Logan narrowed his eyes and made his way menacingly. But his steps were slow as he had yet to shake off the alcohol inhibiting him. Blake widened his eyes when he had inadvertently trapped himself when Logan shoved half of a couch and blocked his exit route.

He closed his eyes and braced himself but it never came. He squinted open his eyes to find a frozen Wolverine, claws in mid-air. It was his face that attracted the teen; Logan no longer possessed the reaction of a maniac but his face transformed one of passiveness and his eyes… They were glassy and his stance was weird, like he was taking commands from some higher being since he was looking at the ceiling.

Seconds flew by and Logan snaps back, walks right past Blake and left the kitchen in its sorry state.

_Hmm, that's how he does it.

* * *

_

**To be continued… Please leave feedback and/or any constructive criticism.**


	4. Point of No Return

**Disclaimer: The usual.**

**Summary: **_No dramatic scene changes unlike last chapter._ Callisto is out of the picture known to all except John possibly, Rogue sought out control, John promoted to inner circle...**  


* * *

**

**Chapter Five: Point of No Return**

Rogue left Johnny's room quietly early in the morning to make her way back to her room. The corpse was disposed of and Rogue climbed into her new bed and fell into a deep, peaceful slumber. She spent all night in his room after their first orgasm and decided to move to give Callisto some "privacy." It was in the dark when they did it; therefore Johnny will be in for a shock once word gets out. **  
**

The demand was fulfilled and with the corpse disposed of, Rogue climbed into her new bed and fell into a deep, peaceful slumber. Noon came and she discovered two more additions to the team: a big muscled, broad-chest mutant fiddling with an oval piece-like metal head gear who looked at her leeringly. "Who would you be?" He answered roughly, "They call me Juggernaut." Rogue eyed him with distaste and muttered "Another metal freak" as she walked away.

Her exit was blocked by a dozen copies of look-alikes staring back at her with different expressions on their faces. A carbon copy or the original, Rogue couldn't tell – stepped out of the crowd and bow playfully, "Jamie Maddox at your service." At that same moment, John, deciding that he had enough sleep, went downstairs, and found Maddox or his clone kissing Rogue on her hand. She looked smitten when he glanced at her from afar. He didn't want to know, see, watch anymore and stomped into the den after knocking to let his superior know.

"Something wrong? Come, sit."

John awkwardly sat on the chair in front of Magneto who was busily looking through a stack of paperwork. On the battlefield, he like a lion, striding elegantly, knowing he would emerge as the victorious one. However, being behind the desk, he looked more like a benevolent grandfather who told his children bedtime stories and pass advice to those who listen.

"Yeah, it's Rogue. Something's... off about her. I can't put my finger on it."

Magneto looked up, surprised. "That's strange. She informed me that she had full control of her gift. What do you mean?"

"She's been acting weird lately, like she came onto Callisto last night and a couple of days ago. Just earlier, I went down to find her and Maddox kissing. She is not the type of person who goes at the next person she sees."

Magneto pushed the neatly stack of papers to the side and lean forward a bit. "That is not surprising. As I have warned her about the consequences of her merge, she chose not to pay any-" A bundle of mail landed rudely on Magneto's desk and he was about to push it to the side as well. However, the top envelope caught his attention and he immediately tore it open with his gold letter-opener. It was the latest bank statement. He groaned loudly. "Not again."

There was a deep laughing from the background and John's head snapped to the back of the room to the noise. Victor emerged from the shadows and went to stand beside Magneto. He glanced at the mail Mags was holding in his hand and chuckled. "She does love her shopping sprees and after Mystique – well, the amounts have increased tremendously."

_Credit bills? Shopping sprees?_ John was unbelievably confounded. _What were these two talking about?_ Victor smiled inwardly at the cub they had taken in a year ago. He cleared his throat and said softly, "It's time he knows. He has always been your right-hand man, Eric." John watched the many fleeting emotions; he swore he could have saw Magneto give one of those rare smiles. The question was unexpected. Magneto repeated, "John, before I go any further, I want you to be honest with me. What does The Brotherhood feel to you?"

Too many things in one day and it was only noon. He felt like he was on a runaway roller coaster; a video flashback to when he was with the X-men to joining of the bad guys to the present. He swallowed and said slowly, "At first, I joined you because I hated the way the Prof treated me like a child, like I couldn't do things right without his guidance. You were different, you let me try; you gave me freedom. I was in a cage, trapped in a place where I never belonged. You let me out and I can't thank you enough. No matter what you do, where you go, I will follow you to the end."

* * *

Rogue was not smitten; irritated that she could not go backwards because she was in a room – a trap she admitted. Behind her was a muscled-bodied that looked wrapped in metal that could easily be part of concrete and a dozen of copies pretty much blocking her exit. _[You can easily hurt him, just one touch,]_ the psyche whispered. Tempted as she was, she shoved the said copy out of her way and said to him without much of a turn. "Name's Rogue, sugar."

Bored that she couldn't find Johnny anywhere; irritated that Quill keeps shunning her; tired of dealing with the lowlife mutants she had put up with outside of the headquarters – they whispered hated words, some being bold told her in the face that she was a spy; Rogue left in a rush and sped to town. She was surrounded by humans in a shopping mall and lean against the glass railing as she sipped on a stolen Coke bottle and watched the oblivious humans idly. Her attention was soon captured by two women strolling on a floor below her. They seemed to be having a great time. It looked like one of those mother-daughter bonds. She never found her biological mother and her foster mother despised her after that freak incident. She wished she was in that red-head's shoes, being fussed over by a mother who looked young for her age. Unlike the girl, she had black short, cropped hair.

Rogue felt drawn to her, she just couldn't keep her eyes off her. She deduced it down to the fact no one cared for her that much except for one but was no longer here because it was her fault for agreeing to it. Angry that she was the cause of it, she left the mall in a hurry. She didn't notice a pair of brown eyes watching her hasty exit or feel the concern from the observer.

No one can help her. She would always be alone with her cursed gift. They could never get close to her because in the end, they will only get hurt.

_[You forget, you are not alone in this world.]_ It spoke up.

Rogue angrily fumed. _[Yes I am. Whenever I need you, you disappear.]_

_[It's your mind. It doesn't take long to find me.]_

She snapped. _[That doesn't mean you can play mind games on me. You're so mysterious; you don't even have a name.]_

_[You never asked me for it. It's Annie by the way.]_

~w~

When Magneto looked down at the lone paper, John thought he was disappointed. Could he have given the answer he was not asking for? He was genuinely surprised when he felt a touch on his shoulder and glanced up to find Magneto by his side. He was shocked as the great Magneto hugged him fiercely and sat next to the chair beside him. "Welcome to the family, John." Victor slid into the vacant seat in front of them. "We have a lot of things to tell you, kid. But, lunch first." He presented three packets of Chinese food containers on the mahogany desk.

"Does…Callisto know any of this?" He asked and was interrupted by Victor who was already scarfing down his meal like water. "Enough of her, John. You need to know that Magneto does not appoint anyone without much of a careful thought on who should be his right-hand man. It was a trap for that bitch." Eric butted in, "I noticed she keeps disappearing at the oddest hours. I can't have that. What if I need her to plan a raid and I can't find her."

John nodded. She was not worth the time and effort to invest. Eric continued, "I need someone who has been there by my side. Mystique was the ideal choice but she is no longer one of us. I had no choice but to abandon her. I've been watching you quietly; you have so much potential: you follow orders, you don't doubt my decisions. And so, I am asking you if you are willing to be my right-hand man, with Victor as my adviser."

John widened his eyes and gaped like a fish. He shut his mouth firmly and nodded, still in a dazed state. He watched Eric gave one of the rare smiles and this time it stayed. "Well then, dig in. We have a lot to cover."

* * *

Rogue wandered into the crowded streets aimlessly without a care. She turned into one of the darker back-alley and stumbled when she was shoved rudely from behind. She spun around to find a fist coming at her. With super speed, she was a blur to the intruder who was stupidly blinking. She slammed him hard into the bricked wall and proceeded to cut off his oxygen supply. He spluttered for air, eyes staring fearfully at her. She cut him some slack and he croaked out, "Y-You're a freak…"

A mistake.

He immediately started to gasp for air as Rogue retorted, "So?"

She was tired of dealing people categorizing her, her life, her friends. Anger rose and settled into that familiar warmth she was beginning to like. Rogue could hear Annie whispering in her ear as if it was standing next to her. _[I know you want it. Feel it, caress it.] _She no longer listened to the human's pleas and pathetic cries. She felt the pulse under her fingertips; his life was in her hands. She felt exhilarated as she caressed his skin gently while keeping a firm grip on his neck. Every touch sent the quivering human tremble with fright.

_[What is a Rogue?] _

She answered without thinking. _[A solitary, independent creature that is dangerous and uncontrollable.]_

_[A killer, that's what you are.]_ The voice override her thoughts firmly, all she could hear was its voice. Darkness looms in her mind and then the boy disappeared from her sight. She blinked once, then twice, confirming that she was no longer in reality. She slowly realized she was sucked into her own mind and the person in front of her spoke. _[The moment you chose the name, you have already made your decision, conscious or not.]_ "You're her." She took a hesitant step back, it took a step forward.

_[Correct, I am a part of you. You cannot escape me, Rogue.]_

"Yes I can, and I will. This is my mind; I will lock you out. I'm not a killer."

_[Rogue, as much as this is your mind, I am and I will always be that part of you. Your absorption with Dr. Jean caused your gift to evolve, allowing you to gain control of what you want to do. You can shut your gift off now. Isn't that what you want?]_

"Yes, but I wasn't expecting another voice in my head."

_[My sweet Marie, what did you expect? To be normal again? When you drained Jean, you absorbed a darker personality she has had since her childhood. She and I are one; Xavier thought he could separate us. He was wrong and now it will be me showing who you truly are.]_ Annie held out her hand and a hologram-like video flashback to what Rogue recognized herself in her previous bedroom with Callisto. She had blanked out last night and now she watched herself absorbing the Marauder completely, thus killing her.

Rogue trembled slightly after watching the flashback. "What are you saying? That my destiny is to kill?"

_[No, you're here because I'm here to show you who you really are. Xavier did not help you with your gift was not because he couldn't. He wanted to control you; if he helped you, nothing will stop you from staying. He needed an anchor to keep control of you.]_

"Logan…"

Annie nods. _[He knew Logan would take care of you. He is your link to the X-Men. Xavier knew very well that he had a soft spot for you, so he tried to gain Logan's trust.]_

"That scheming bastard will pay for playing with me."

_[Your first step will be difficult for you-]_

"Just cut to the chase."

_[Confront those feelings and channel it into something you can control. Become who you should have been.]_

She was transported back to reality and examined the lowlife in front of her. He probably have had wet his pants already. She wasted no time and drained his life force quickly and at the same time savoring the thrill and pleasure. She licked her lips and strolled back into the dispersing crowd.

_[Be the killer.]_

_[This is meant to be.]_

Fate

Destiny

Whatever, she was Rogue unleashed.

* * *

**To be continued...  
**


	5. The Forked Path

**Disclaimer: The usual**

**Summary:** Victor gets a reality check, Blake and comatose Jean are conspiring, the Brotherhood gets a head up from inside contact, Ryro bid farewell~

* * *

**Chapter Six: At the Forked Path**

John cursed himself loudly. Either he had very bad timing or fate seems to love torturing him, either way the scene unfolded before him. Rogue and Maddox together in a lip lock. He didn't know if he should intervene and punched him in his pretty face or leave. Would she be upset or smiling? He didn't know; his head was spinning with images he did not want to see. It should be him kissing her. It should always be him next to her, whispering assurances or holding her hand. Jealous, he left the room, never suspecting a pair of dark brown eyes following his exit.

A loud voice interrupted the pair and they sprang apart, startled from the noise. Sabretooth cracked his knuckles and growled softly, "Maddox, OUT. NOW!" Rogue exasperatedly sighed.

"Sabretooth…"

She was interrupted mid-way. "Victor, Rogue."

"Whatever. Does Magneto want to see me?"

Victor shook his head which Rogue frowned before impatiently tried to walk past him. He grabbed her wrist firmly, "We need to talk." Their eyes met and he was a little shocked to see her eyes were totally black as night. He could feel power radiating from her, yet all the more he tightened his grip on her and pulled her through a series of rooms. He led her to the basement and firmly shoved her inside, while locking them from the inside. Having regained her balance, she made no move to attack him. She did, however, put distance between each other and regarded him with wariness.

Once confirming that they were safely locked away from prying eyes and ears, he raised up his hands to show Rogue that he had no intention of harming her. "I'm not here to harm you."

Rogue, not trusting her voice, started to walk sideways and Victor mirrored her. He continued to speak gently, "How are you holding up?"

"Fantastic," she replied.

"This is serious, Rogue. You don't go around killing someone and then pretending like nothing happened."

"I don't need your concern."

"We are the only ones you've got. Why can't you let us in? Eric's concerned about your health. Johnny **loves** you, Rogue. Can't you see that?"

"I can… But I can't – I can't let him in," her voice cracked just a bit.

"I know you have been hurt by them but you have got to move on. Let him unburden you. He's not Ice prick."

Rogue stilled and unshed tears were beginning to show. Victor slowly walked towards her, closing the gaping distance. "I know you do. You need to tell him that. You're hurting him and yourself." He stopped just in front of her and laid his giant hands on her shoulders and gently hugged her, giving her the comfort that the kid was supposed to be doing. John should be doing this, not him.

He felt her petite body stiffened but he figured that she was trying to compose herself. However, that was not the case. Images of the previous nights came bombarding into her thoughts, an endless stream of flashbacks repeating, tormenting her. She couldn't take anymore and tried calling Infinitio for help. He did not respond. Desperately, she tried to stop the endless images from disturbing her peace of mind but it was useless.

She collapsed on the solid, cool metal tiles, crying her eyes out. "Rogue? Rogue! Talk to me! What's wrong?" Victor knelt down and tried to wake her up. He tried shaking her and calling her name loudly, hoping she would snap out of it and respond. She did, but it was more than he hoped for. Her eyes became dark and in the dimly lit room, he realized that her pupils were missing. Her crying stopped and she grinned maliciously. Risking his own life when he could have entered the code into the doorway and ran for it, he fought against her with all of his might.

"You're not Rogue…" It then dawned on him that this could be the Phoenix that had Eric so concerned.

She hissed and telekinetically lashed out. "You're wrong. I am Rogue. Unleashed! You cannot stop me!" He dodged the blow and scampered to the other side. She chuckled evilly, "Where are you, dog? Scared of lil Roguey?" The room was dimly lit which Victor was glad to have shadows to hide. He watched her as she came to the center, still calling him out softly, insulting him with names that he had already heard of. He quietly picked the metal shackles up and waited when she had her back facing him. _Now or never_, he grimly thought. He hated to do this, but her powers were out of control.

As soon as her back faced him, he pounced.

* * *

Clink! A metallic object fell to the floor, alerting the owner of its presence. He reached down and picked up the cell-phone while frowning at the model._ This wasn't his. How did this manage to get into his bag?_

Uriel was in the midst of cleaning the contents of his duffel bag out, putting his clothes into an empty wardrobe. This had slipped inside and a smaller package without him knowing. He placed the package on the bed and with trembling fingers, he hesitantly opened it to reveal a note: Keep the cell on. It's the only way I can reach you if something comes up. The contents were then revealed to be a small metallic chessboard, those kinds of portable board games easy for travel. The chess pieces were stuck together and each of them had a name tag tied. He slowly realized that his friend had taken the trouble to label each piece. The black pieces were tagged with the Brotherhood members whereas the white were the X-Men's.

_This – Magneto would love to see._ With that, he quickly left his new room in a hurry to find Quicksilver. He wondered what Blake was up to, at this moment.

~w~

A series of training sessions all conducted under Charles Xavier's observation. There, on the top of the observation deck, he watches his army decimate the Brotherhood members. He checks off each team member's name until he stops at the very same timid boy, Uriel. He had no last name; this…certainly was unusual. _Who had checked him in? _He pondered on it but was distracted when he heard an anguished yell from down below. He watched as Logan sank two sets of adamantium claws into Rogue, right through her holographic heart. _If only, he had the courage to do it again. _Xavier shut down the session and announced that they did a great job.

Once the mission was a success, Charles had already decided, he would have to put the animal down. He pulled out a long chain which held a lone key dangling. He reached to the lowest set of drawers and unlocked it. He carefully placed the small case onto his lap and telepathically scanned his students, assuring himself that no student was nearby. Slowly, he opened the case and the content revealed to be a specially designed pistol and six very special bullets, not made of lead and gunpowder. These were six adamantium bullets, not meant to kill, but to erase the memories of the target.

Charles didn't want to do this, but this Logan had changed. He doubted said mutant had any strength left to pull himself together. Therefore, what choice did he have left? Charles Xavier had other matters to attend to, and it doesn't include playing grandfather to a grown man. He quietly replaced the cover and placed the silver case back into the drawer.

All this time in his own office, Charles never bothered to check his room carefully.

Hence, he never noticed a small **hidden** camera activated at the corner.

* * *

"So, Xavier plans to execute someone. I'm not sure who though," the blond teen murmured to his listener.

_[That's alright. There's still time, don't worry Blake.]_ She mentally communicated with him. She had no idea how long she was here for. Her only visitor was Blake, who frequently came and spoke to her. He was the one who told her about all the recent happenings in the school. "I can't help but worry. I don't know his target. What if the target's Scott?"

Worry flashed onto her peaceful face as she asked, _[Why Scott? Has he been causing trouble?]_ Blake shook his head. He was alone on this. "Well… lately, he has been rather distant with the Professor and Logan has been brain-washed. It's the only valid theory I can come up with; he could be using Logan to stop Rogue-"

_[Logan will not kill her… unless –]_ "Unless what? What's going to happen?" Blake gripped her wrist firmly, afraid of her answer. She hesitantly replied him. [_Unless he's still thinking it's for the greater good nonsense. Blake…]_

His mind had started spinning possibilities on what the case could have contained. "What is it?" He responded tersely.

_[Keep watching Charles for me and Logan as well. I think we should let Scott in. One more person on this can help us greatly, even if we both have different goals.]_

~w~

Uriel walked into the living room and wasn't all too surprised by the messiness: Pietro sitting on an armchair watching soccer oblivious to the loud chattering of two ladies next to him, with stacks of fashion brochures and shopping bags all cluttered in front of them. Wanda was busy pulling out many shirts and pinning them on her brother's back who paid no attention to her whatsoever, whereas the other was commenting on each piece of clothing. Somehow she seemed familiar yet he had trouble placing her name, so he walked towards them.

The dark brunette heard a pair of soft footsteps getting louder and glanced up. She smiled pleasantly, "Hello Lucas. Great to have you back in one piece." Lucas Braddock, his real name, took note of her voice and said, "Mystique?" She nodded, "Aye." He said, "They shot you with the cure? I thought they were using it to help the unfortunate."

She bitterly replied, "What cure? It's a curse! The army's helping themselves to that blasted shots. They're not taking any more chances."

Wanda squealed the moment she heard his name. "Lucas! We missed you! I missed you! No one bullied you, did they? I'll kill them…"

He shook his head. "Nope, but I made a friend."

The girls both chorused. "Who?"

"His name's Blake. Uncle Eric's gonna love him."

Mystique asked, "Last name?" Lucas replied, "I don't know but he said Rogue's his sister." She became quiet after absorbing the information and Lucas took the opportunity to punch Pietro on the shoulder. "Hey dude, can you do me a favor?" "Hmm?" Eyes never straying away from the match, Lucas huffed and said, "Can you take me to Uncle Eric? There's something I gotta show him." Pietro nodded, switched off the television, and in a flash was standing beside him.

"Alright, kiddo. Fasten your seatbelt and get ready for one hell of a ride!" He immediately grabbed the younger and sped towards the headquarters in a blur.

* * *

Blurry visions in a darkened lock-in chamber was not a good thing, she mused. She struggled furiously from his iron-clad grip but he was too strong and her strength was wavering. Her head was starting to hurt. Why do they keep yelling at her? She just wanted to hang with Maddox and chat, but she gets dragged unceremoniously into a dark room, locked in with a crazed smelly beast who wants to talk to her. Alone.

Two different voices, two completely very contrasting opinions and instructions were starting to overwhelm her.

To kill or not to kill, that is the question.

* * *

Eric glanced up at the duo questioningly. "What's up with you two?" Lucas rushes over to his side and hugged him tightly. Oof! Lucas, embarrassed, quickly released him, rubbing his eyes a little. "Sorry, I missed you, s'all." Eric patted his back and smiled. "It's okay, child. Everyone missed you." Pietro smiled at the interchange. Lucas and his sister stayed with them for so long that now he had looked to him as his younger brother. He cleared his throat, "Lucas, the chess–"

"Oh, right!" He recovered and then revealed the chessboard to Eric who stared at the board game amazingly. Pietro even sat down for a closer look. He too noticed how every black and white chess pieces had names tagged to them. Eric marveled at the ingenious idea and said quietly, "You did all of this during your stay?" Lucas replied, "You like it?" Eric gave a short hearty chuckle. "Like it? I love it! All those lessons finally paid off…" Lucas rolled his eyes and smirked at him. "Glad you love it… because a friend gave this to me. He thought it would be helpful to you." He looked surprised. "You roped an X-man into this?"

Lucas shrugged. "He doesn't give much of a damn to Xavier's plans. Scott brought him in."

"So he could be a relative of Scott Summers," Eric mused. The boys both rolled their eyes watching their father/uncle who was probably coming up with some ideas that Blake was a 'Summer'. Pietro interrupted his musing and waved his hand in front of his father's face to catch his attention. "Dad, Rogue's his big sister."

"So you say. Interesting."

~w~

Interesting question, isn't it? The infamous quote by William Shakespeare's Hamlet – "To be or not to be." It was certainly a dilemma that anyone could easily relate in their everyday lives. Rogue needed to choose: walk down the path of a lone killer where destruction lies or control the hunger to kill with help from her friends. She snapped open her eyes and whispered, "Help me!"

"Control it, Rogue. You can do this. Lock the beast up."

She went lax underneath him and Victor let up, thinking she's alright. Rogue gradually woke up and cringed in disgust. "Ew! You stink! Do you ever bathe?"

Victor was about to answer but she held her hand and stood a length away from him. "Get me out of here! This is your idea to talk to me here? We couldn't do it outside? How did Magneto get used to you stinking his base?" Mortified, he silently entered the codes. The doors swung open and Rogue brushed past him.

As she did, she hissed. "The beast has always been you. Logan's so much better than you."

~w~

Magneto sent word to all inner members of his circle to come to headquarters without letting anyone else know. There they stood, with Magneto sitting in the middle, quietly and unmoving, forming a semi-circle in front of him. Mystique, in her human form stood the closest to Magneto, on his left. Pyro on his right; Wanda beside Mystique' Pietro next to Pyro, both were eyeing each other. Lucas stood exactly in front of him, with a small holographic machine in the middle of them.

Magneto introduced his children to Pyro who nodded respectfully at them. He noticed that Victor was not in the meeting and tucked the information away. He'd check into it later.

Lucas noticed that Magneto had enlarged the chessboard so as to allow the rest to see. Halfway through the meeting, Lucas's cell-phone rang once and all it took was one glance to instantly know it was bad news for them. He cleared his throat and announced gravely, "Uncle Eric, Blake just discovered that Xavier has suspected that Rogue has joined us. He has informed his team and Blake thinks he plans to have Logan kill Rogue."

Everyone reacted badly to the news while Wanda just hummed lightly to herself. Magneto leant back into his chair, absorbing the sudden news. Mystique looked worried and furious; Lucas knew it was because of the lack of powers. Wanda was being herself and Pyro was cradling a ball of fire whereas Pietro was leaning slightly away from him, eyes glued towards the fireball that seemed to be getting bigger.

* * *

The anti X-man crowd outside must have grown, Rogue mused. They had successfully surrounded her, shouting insults at her. "Traitor! Leech! Fraud! Go back where you came from! You don't belong here!" They spat curses.

She turned around on the spot and hissed. "Y'all acting like five. Get Over It!" Enraged all the more, they increased their efforts and she stood calmly, smiling.

"What'd ya smiling at?" One stood out of the crowd. Others were egging him on.

She grinned evilly. "You wanna know? Come closer and I'll tell ya!"

That was it.

They no longer cursed her; they closed in and attempted to use their powers on her. Rogue felt their burning hatred and she was exhilarated. As for their endeavor, she wasn't in the slightest hurt; all she felt was a tickle. She turned on the mutant who first challenged her and threw a punch. He never fell down, for she had already absorbed him in a flash. His remains were nothing but dust. Scared now, some turned tail and ran, while others continued to rush at her. She welcomed them.

* * *

"Pyro? Pyro! JOHN!"

He was jolted back to Earth and realized that he still had the fireball. He tried to extinguish it but was not fast enough. He was losing control.

The next thing he knew, the flaming ball flew right at him and knocked him off his feet. Pyro sat up and dazedly noticed that Wanda had resumed back to her usual calm stance, no longer looking at him with her hand pointing at him.

"Sorry, won't happen again." He muttered.

Pietro nodded. "Control your emotions. Don't let them get the best of you."

Magneto spoke up again. "Now that Xavier suspects, we need to throw him off our path. Pyro, I want you to find Rogue and tell her to leave Virginia a bit. Get her to the south and cause some trouble. There's a Cajun who would be willing to help. His name is Gambit. He'll know what to do."

Pyro replied, "How long?"

"Till Xavier no longer suspects she is one of us."

Pietro announced, "Father, I have a suggestion. We'll replace Rogue with Lucas for the raid next week. That way Xavier will think he's wrong and focus on him instead."

Magneto agreed. "Good, good. I'll inform the others. Meeting is adjourned."

~w~

John was first out of the door. He needed air, needed to breathe. This wasn't fair. He never had a chance to be with her. He blew up their first chance. Why did he have to be so paranoid when she blatantly stated her answer? _Yes, you did. Admit it! Last night was the best of your existence._ He passed by the foyer and smelt that familiar burned cigars heading towards him. Victor looked as if he just been to hell; his clothes were ragged and burnt.

"What happened to you?" John asked.

He muttered, "Never get ya nose in a girl's business. You hear me?"

John just stared at him, trying to make sense of his words. However, a loud crack from outside distracted him. He heard cries of pained groans and went out to have a look. What he found was his girl in the middle, holding up her own against the crowd. He glanced fast in the other direction where the other mutants, whom Magneto and he had recruited, were trying not to get involved and left a huge gap between the ones fighting Rogue.

He took note of their faces and realized that this was the recruits Callisto had brought in. He watched as Rogue took care of the first half in front of her, the other half of the group was already advancing on her back. The mutant had raw bone spikes pop out of his arms and was preparing to throw them at her unsuspecting back. John reacted fast; he raced towards them, his lighter ignited with his other hand guiding the fire straight towards them.

Rogue concentrated on the group that was slowly scattering from her. She smelt burnt ashes from behind and turned to see John's back facing her. She felt warmth and guilt tightly engulfing her body; she felt herself swell in happiness as she watched him take care of the rest. When that was done, she swept him into a hug, surprising him and at the same moment, herself too.

He turned swiftly and wrapped his strong arms around her waist while she buried her face into his shirt, inhaling his scent. She missed him badly and had a feeling that she might not have a chance to make up for the past mistakes.

They stood together quietly as rain came pouring down. The rest of the lowlife mutants residing outside the base gave them a wide berth. After seeing what the formidable duo could do within a couple of minutes, they were not so inclined to be near the pair.

Rogue felt raindrops on her skin, drenching her clothes. She never felt this peaceful and restful before. She held onto him, wishing they could be like this forever. John let it be, as he watched the rain wash away the burnt ashes, soothing the fire, eventually extinguishing them.

It was a beautiful sight. He knew he had to let her go and tell her Magneto's orders.

One moment more – he wanted to cherish this, thus he burned this memory into his mind.

They didn't need words or apologies because both knew they each had a long road ahead.

* * *

It was nightfall and all but one student had fallen asleep. He was seen strolling down quiet corridors as if he owned the place, before turning into a series of turns and ended up in his makeshift office. Photos were pinned together, taking up a quarter of the unblemished wall. The middle had a bed which Jean Grey slept. To many, it may look as if she was unaware of all the drama in the school but it was quite the contrary. Even though she was trapped in a coma, she was slowly regaining her senses around her.

She knew someone was pacing near her cot. She knew that someone was an ally, although he had switched sides. She felt restless but shook the feeling off.

This wasn't the end of Jean Gray yet.

She will bid her time. When she gets stronger, she will awaken.

But _which_ side shall she take?

* * *

Clear, dark skies littered with stars and soft moonlight from the heavens and down below finds a couple holding hands. She walks away from him, her hand still tightly holding his whilst the other held the familiar duffel bag. He held his ground, his hand in front of him with hers intertwined.

"Guess this is goodbye then," John said.

"It's not over yet. I'll be back."

"I'll wait for you."

"Don't worry, Johnny. I'll be back before you have time to miss me." She walked back to him and gave him a searing kiss.

"You don't know that."

"I know my brother. There's one thing we both have in common," she whispered.

"What's that?" He held her and gave a passionate kiss as she replied saucily in his ear, "You'll see."

She was about to step back but he stopped her. Confused, she locked eyes with him and he grinned. "Say my name."

"Johnny."

"Again"

"Johnny," Rogue leaned in towards him and returned his kiss fervently. As they kissed, both poured their raw emotions out which transformed into a mixture of burning passion and searing iciness. They stayed in the same position like the first contact. Beneath their feet, they stood in a heart-shaped outline with fire and ice coating.

Seconds passed and all that left was John standing with his eyes closed. He opened them and whispered into the night.

"I love you."

**To be continued...**


	6. Seeing Ghosts

**Disclaimer: I promise to return them safely in one piece.**

_Summary: Lovesick John, X-Men bowled, Logan is made to remember his past…_

* * *

**Chapter Seven: Seeing Ghosts**

As scattered humans ran from the scene in a deserted city in Pennsylvania, which was now claimed by wandering mutants, Pyro stood before the burned down clinic, grinning after adding finishing touches to one of his masterpieces. It was a successful raid and it should go on forever. There were no X-men stopping them now. They left a trail of destruction in their wake. It was so easy, he mused, all they had to do was set Juggernaut a route and have him barrel his way through anything in his path.

"Last one, Pyro. Juggernaut's heading towards the tenth as we speak," the younger member spoke up. Pyro smirked in reply and jumped into the van as they made their way towards the next three clinics. He glanced at the quiet one that spoke up earlier. Lucas was in the inner circle of the Brotherhood members that Magneto had chosen. Not only was he a valuable player, but he was once a former member of the X-Men. Pyro had heard of the Braddocks before.

They were considered as one of the many powerful political families on the eastern region and were vastly rich. Their driver, Victor, was surprisingly quiet, and only spoke when it was necessary. At the moment, Pyro decided if the man wanted silence, he'd give him that. This raid needed to be successful, Pyro wanted to make sure – no, he needed Magneto to know he had chosen the right man for this job.

The vehicle had caught up to Juggernaut who had just barge his way into the clinic. Pyro and Lucas jumped out and spread out, with Pyro adding some firepower into the collapsed building and Lucas using his powers to scare humans and mutants alike from the scene. He watched the bits and pieces of concrete fell as the foundation gave way.

"Like London Bridge… London Bridge is falling down," that familiar tinkering voice again appeared. Pyro looked around for the source. All he saw were a mass of frenzied panic crowd fleeing from them, where was she? She couldn't be here. Magneto sent her south. How could this be happening? Why was he hearing her voice? He found Victor smoking in the van parked just adjacent to the building, Lucas on his far left chatting with invisible ghosts. He would tell him that he noticed something off.

The only option left which Pyro admitted to himself that he must be going crazy… Yeah, crazily in love with her to the point he felt that she had never left him in the first place. He half-whispered, wondering if she could hear him.

"Rogue…"

Nothing. Na-da. It didn't work. He wanted to slap himself hard, of course it didn't work. She wasn't here.

He stalked back towards the van while waving to the other members to join him but was interrupted in mid-stride when a sudden ice blast rudely cut across him and extinguished the fire. But it was no use, there was nothing to save. The raid was successful and the X-Geeks were too late to stop them. Pyro slowly turned towards their approaching guests and smirked.

"Come to join us?"

Calmly he stood against the X-Men which he noticed immediately that they were being outnumbered; he positioned himself in the center with Juggernaut cracking his knuckles on his right while Lucas stood on his left. The awkward pose as Uriel was gone. He was now Lucas Braddock and it wouldn't do well if he acted like a weakling. So he stood tall, confident, and proud against them with a matching smirk. Three versus six and no Victor in sight. That damn bastard would rather watch than fight. Fine! He'd show him.

Pyro readied his stance, his lighter was already ignited and he cradled a ball of fire ready to strike. Juggernaut muttered, "Somebody line them up for me." He wondered why none of the X-Men had moved; they looked rather surprised. He said, "What's wrong, baby Drake? You looked like you've seen a ghost?" He watched as Bobby darted his eyes towards him and then back onto Lucas. He relaxed his posture and put an arm around Lucas. "Oh, I'm sorry… I didn't know you two knew each other," Pyro addressed the stunned X-Men. He risked a glance and mentally grinned as Juggernaut had set himself towards them. He continued on as if nothing happened.

"Our newest member joined us a few weeks ago, isn't that right buddy?" The shorter member groaned softly, his cover had been blown. Oh well, they were bound to know, he couldn't hide from them forever.

Lucas muttered, "You had to do this?"

"Shh… don't be a spoil sport, go along with it, will ya?" Pyro replied quietly but he announced loudly, "I think you knew him as Uriel, former member of your team, ain't that right?"

* * *

Bobby was shocked! He expected to see Rogue standing opposite him and next to Pyro but… this was a surprise. When Pyro announced it, he noticed that Uriel or Lucas no longer had red hair but now sported a blonde spiky hairdo with black highlights. His awkwardness was replaced with a cold demeanor, and he was dressed like those rich prep school kids. Where was Rogue? The Professor was confident that she had joined him and if she had, she would not be sitting on the sidelines watching. Bobby knew her well enough she loved being in the thick of it.

He confronted Pyro. "Where's Rogue?"

"Rogue? She ain't here."

"Don't put yourself in deeper trouble, Pyro. We know she joined you guys."

"Oh yeah? Where's the proof, Drakey boy?"

He was getting nowhere and his team of six was getting nervous. They thought they had come prepared but apparently at this standoff, the Brotherhood had a surprise for them and he was right there in front of their eyes. Kitty spoke up next to him, "John, just tell us where she is. The Professor tracked her on Cerebro; he knows she is with you. Where else would she be?"

Pyro shrugged uncaringly. "Since when do I date Popsicle's leftovers? Oh… wait a minute, so that's what you've been doing at the revolt. Can't find your girlfriend so I become your convenient excuse?"

Bobby had enough of Pyro's answers. Ice formed in his cold palm and he shot it right at Pyro who ducked while laughing. And all that laughing and jeering were beginning to aggravate him. He continued shooting off a series of icicles at his opponent who kept dodging. Pyro kept up with the jeering because being Drake's best friend for two years and sharing a room with him, he knew exactly what buttons to push.

"You missed again, Bobs. Didn't know the Professor's getting desperate?"

"SHUT UP, YOU S.O.B.!" Bobby yelled and sent a powerful ongoing stream of ice straight at Pyro, who countered it with his own. They kept going like this for a couple of minutes, Pyro adding more heat as flames licked the other body tauntingly. He briefly wondered how much heat Ice Drake could take before melting into a puddle of water.

~w~

Pyro soon felt his energy waning and found himself in a similar state as his nemesis. Not wanting Drake to know he was feeling weak, he focused his remaining energy into a sneer. "Go back to school, baby Drake. You aren't cut out for the real, nasty world yet." The flames raged against Bobby, who tried desperately to hold his position. He heard screams behind him and turned his head towards the source. It was a BIG mistake. That's all it took – a distraction and he was knocked unconscious, lying a few feet back on the side of the curb.

The distraction? It was actually Juggernaut who had slink away from the front lines, aligned himself up with the X-Men team who was spread out in a straight line, like bowling pins in position for the big, menacing bowling ball aka the charged giant metal-freak mutant. He managed to knock every single one except for their newest newbie, Angel, who reacted and flew up for safety.

The beautiful angel – Lucas mused – appeared strangely familiar as Warren Worthington III, the son of the father whose company created the cure. The cure that had caused this mess in the first place. Not to worry, Lucas thought to himself, he can run but he can't hide. No, wait – he meant fly… never mind. Pyro and Juggernaut had their share of glory, so it was his turn now. Lucas ordered the spirits with an inaudible command.

To Warren, he only saw his childhood friend, Lucas Braddock, raising his head, staring at him as if he was waiting for something. It did, soon he felt an invisible mental force slamming in from all sides, trapping him into a psychic cage with little to no oxygen. That was exactly Lucas's intention and the winged mutant fell gracefully to the ground. Lucas stared at him and muttered, "We could still be friends, you know." He and the other members left the scene, leaving the fallen X-Men behind.

* * *

**Brotherhood** – 1 + 1 [Successful raid & Rogue]

**X-Men** – 1 [Well, it counts for recruiting Warren although the rich kid had came to Xavier for help.]

It was written in a notebook.

Blake grinned happily as he watched a live feed of the fight just by hacking into Xavier's visual feeds. He may not be a computer genius like Kitty, but with his gift, he could sort of let his ability do the work. Seeing that the raid was successful, he was secretly glad that he was helping the winning side. After all, no one likes losing. Quickly, he switched feeds and the computer screen changed to Xavier's office.

~w~

Charles Xavier was having a very bad day. One, he recently discovered – at a price – Rogue was not involved with the Brotherhood. There were no indications that she had even joined them. Newspaper clippings of wanted mutants showed no signs of woman other than the Marauders who have been spotted by a few photographers he had managed to buy them from. Two, Uriel was their inside guy, not Rogue. He had been foolish, careless even. The traitor had been right there, under his very own eyes.

He missed it – the most important clue – his uncommon name. Who checks in a kid without asking his last name? He needed to know now. Because of Jean, after the incident, they had been too focused on Jean and Rogue, seeing that she was the last person- Charles came to his senses too late. The incident with Rogue had to be a distraction. Lucas Braddock – the Braddocks are one powerful influential family. They have deep connections with very high and dangerous people. He had to tread carefully.

He checked Cerebro again, and this time he felt something was off with the machine, as if someone had tampered with it recently. It couldn't be Uriel; he was there… which meant the Brotherhood could have sent someone else to infiltrate his team. But who?

He went back, replaying the fight in his head. Where had they gone wrong? It was six against three. _[No, it's not them. It's you.]_ That voice – he knew he sent out six teens that weren't ready to stop the Brotherhood – the same voice kept repeating in his head.

_[Don't go down that road. Stop. Think.] _It's too late now, Charles mentally argued with himself. All six X-Men members were snuffed out by three dangerous Brotherhood members within fifteen minutes.

What would happen if this was the real deal?

_[You've become Death himself.]_

* * *

Minutes came to pass, and soon Scott and Logan entered Xavier's office bearing bad news, which Charles had already known. He immediately wasted no time telling Scott to bring Hank along to get their fallen comrades, but told Logan to remain behind. Scott nodded and left quickly, shutting the door behind. He made the pretense of walking away loudly as if he was upset by the news. Then he backtracked quietly and slowly as possible, all the while blocking his mind just in case. What did Charles want to tell Logan that couldn't be told in front of him? Something was off and he knew it.

Charles waited for Scott's footsteps to fade into the background and addressed Logan. "I got a mission for you. If you want Rogue back, go to Magneto's base. It's located near the outskirts of Virginia. Find her and bring her back to us." Without a beat, Logan replied in a monotone, "Yes, sir." He moved towards the door and left in the same direction as Scott did.

As soon as the door opened, he never looked to his right where the door hid Scott from his view, nor did he sense anyone near the office. Scott picked on Logan's behavior; when he had walked into the office with him, he was slouched and seemed completely disinterested. Now his face had changed to someone Scott didn't know. He looked like he is being possessed. _Since when did Logan ever call Charles sir? No, Charles would never do that. It was against his code. But what he had heard, he was in denial. What was the professor thinking?_ If Rogue wanted to leave them, it was her choice. None of them had the right to control her life affairs.

He went off, lost in thought as he made his way to the infirmary.

~w~

Beneath the concrete floors and hidden passageways hid a young woman in her late twenties in a deep sleep with only the dim flicker of light to accompany her. She smiled whilst sleeping and the machine beeped as her heart rate rose significantly. She felt worry, frustration, hope, sorrow, confusion, and anger above her. All those emotions were bubbling in the deepest cores of their hearts and she wanted to play. Oh yes… her time was coming.

* * *

Logan reached the basement of the garage and noticed Scott wasn't there. He found the keys to Scott's-then-motorcycle-now-his and walked towards it. When he reached it, he noticed one of the students leaning on the said car. "Aren't you supposed to be in class…?" Logan fumbled and tried to remember the kid's name. Somehow the name kept slipping off his tongue. What was wrong with him? Why was he feeling so out of it? He mentally shook his head out of cobwebs and tried to focus on the kid. "You…"

Blake frowned when 'the' fearless Wolverine falter in his voice. "I have a name," he said calmly, putting his hands in front of him to show he wasn't trying anything. "Get out of the way, kid. I've got places to be," Logan growled when the kid didn't move. Some part of him knew he could shove the kid away and sped off, but he couldn't. There was something familiar about the kid, his concerned brown eyes reminded of someone else dear to him. "Rogue…" The girl he was supposed to look after, the person he had failed, why did that kid looked so much like her? He didn't even notice he said her name out loud.

"I need to go. I have to bring her back." He took a step towards kid blocking his way and was surprised when Blake let him pass. "She left the team," he said softly.

"She doesn't know what she's doing. The Prof. says she's possessed."

"Logan, you can't save everybody. Let her go."

"I can't –"

"He's using you to get to her, James." Logan stiffened his back at Blake and he continued oblivious to the older mutant's reaction. "He knows the old Logan, the guy he used to be before being transformed, and he never told you about it… because he's afraid of losing you to the other side."

Logan got on his motorcycle, determined not to listen to the kid and yet he found himself doubting the Professor. Having lost his words, he muttered in denial. "I don't believe you."

* * *

Blake watched Logan go and wondered if that was a good idea. Everything relating to one Charles Xavier involved risking his neck and he could not afford being in check with a delusional, insane man. He did not have the manpower to turn his team against him. He knew the basic of Logan's old past and history involving William Stryker after hacking into Xavier's main access files. At first, he didn't quite understand why Xavier wanted to hide the truth from Logan, so he kept reading until he found the connection. Then he knew why; he finally saw the facade under the kind and gentle Professor. He went into the older archives and traced his way to the first X-Men team members. He read every member's backgrounds and how Xavier came to know about them. He understood Jean Gray had the capacity of destroying the existence of mankind if she used the full potential of her power. He tucked the important bits of information away.

Blake sneaked back into history class where Ms. Monroe was teaching. He sneered once he took his seat back in the classroom. She didn't even notice he left. He had been gone for half an hour and, there she goes, droning about past U.S. governmental policies. This is ridiculous. He turned towards Erica and blew air into her ear. She giggled and asked where he'd been to. As usual, he lied about his whereabouts. He traded notes, he talked during class, always showing off, and never revealing anything of his little project.

~w~

Logan sped off on the highway, ignoring angry yells as he weaved through thousands of automobiles. Lost in thought, he briefly bought a ticket down memory lane and went down. Starting with Rogue and the first time he saw her, he went backwards. He recalled the countless nightmares of him trapped in a greenish liquid full container with metallic sharp tubes sticking into his body, injecting him with indestructible metal alloy adamantium into his skeleton. He remembered in his dreams before they became a nightmare, of a beautiful brunette making love to him and two young boys that looked similar in the woods. Some part inside told me one of them looked very much like him, but who was the other boy? _Were they brothers? Did he once have a brother? What happened to him?_ All these questions started popping out after the scrawny kid's confrontation. How did the kid know about him?

* * *

"Good job, Pyro. Ten in a row in half a day," Magneto congratulated him behind his ornate desk. Pyro absorbed the compliment, basking in his victory, and added "Not to mention, we wiped out Xavier's inferior team. They didn't put much of a fight." Pietro, who was lounging on one of the long couches, smirked from across him. "And I thought the X-Men were a threat, hah!" Magneto shushed his children before it got out of hand. "Now, now, don't be too hasty. All of you must be tired. Celebrate. Rest." With one of his many dramatic grand gestures, he shooed them out of his office and contemplated in silence.

"Partyy!" Pietro crowed, slapping high-fives with Lucas and Pyro, who was a bit reluctant. "Why the frown? Turn it upside-down, man!" Pyro walked ahead of them, scowling as he walked backwards to face them. "You did nothing. I was the one–"

"I? Am I missing something here?" Lucas said quietly, effectively turning all attention towards him.

"Ok. We – Metal head, you, and me – did all the hard work. You don't get to party!" John smirked at Pietro, whose excitement changed to one of annoyance.

"Fine, whatever!" He swaggered ahead of the duo and turned to them when he reached the end of the hallway, "Just so you know, partying involves drinks – beer, not water… And I did grocery shopping this morning. What've you got, bro, that I don't have?"

Lucas, realizing this, chortled loudly, and slapped John hard in the back. "Dude, we've got nothing. You lose again, Johnny boy." He ran towards Pietro and bumped fists together. Pietro, encouraged by Lucas, continued to annoy John, "Where's your game, bro?"

John reached them both and proceeded slapped his hands onto their backs, and walked or rather steered them into the living room. "Fine, you win… for now. What are you waiting for, Quickie? Get the beer!" Pietro darkened at his new nickname, stomped off in a huff. John threw himself on the couch and tried not to feel miserable. Lucas sat quietly on another, next to him. "You miss her." It was more of a statement than a question. John sighed. "I bet she's enjoying herself with that Cajun fella."

* * *

Elsewhere, the place was overcrowded with people milling around the lottery slots and tables piled with sophisticated, rich men with their respective ladies cheering them as they gamble away their money and more than that away. She hovered over him, her hand on his shoulder, while he played. They flirt, they dance, they scam. She felt she was just going through the motions for the past two weeks. She was bored but he wasn't. He wanted her but knew the moment he laid his demonic eyes on her beautiful brown ones, they were not meant to be. Not in this life, anyway. But that doesn't meant he couldn't dance around her. He was the devil and she was an angel. Then there are times he felt she was as dark as he was, plagued by sorrow and guilt. They both shared a common likeness – danger.

She was used to getting herself stuck in dangerous situations, ones that almost put her life at stake. He was used to being in the thick of danger. He sensed it, he jumped head first. _"Worry about the consequence later,"_ that was his motto. He'd never thought ahead. She was just the opposite, always planning, plotting each meticulous step so she would never made the same mistake twice. She hated him. She hated his very being yet she was drawn into his endless pool of redness. It was so alluring, she couldn't help herself. He unknowingly pulls her in and she surrenders.

* * *

John felt many heavy footsteps coming their way and figured it was only Juggernaut. Surprisingly, more of the mutants he and Pietro had recruited in the past few months entered and congratulated them both. They were loyal to the duo and Lucas who occasionally visited them on his way out. Whenever one of them left to do some errands for Magneto, they would usually allow the recruits to join them in their endeavors, as long as it got things done, none of them minded the extra company. It was like a big family, everyone looking out for each other. Not everyone though, the group that had attacked Rogue were one of the more hating, judgmental group recruited by Callisto. But they had stayed out of Pyro's reach after the incident, when they had seen he did not hold his fury back.

Pietro came back, dumping stacks of beer on the floor, panting. Lucas looked over him, curiously. "Where did you come from?" Pietro bent over, getting his bearings, and finally managed to get out his reply, "…My…place…" The entire gang chortled with happiness. Even John broke into a small smile. It was useless trying to think about her if it was going to cause him to grieve. Let her have her fun. He had his own. "Here, here!" He reached for his bottle and clinked with his fellow brothers and took a gulp. He doesn't care anymore. He could live without her for a couple months. No big deal.

* * *

Night falls, the stars above glittered brightly over the vast darkness. Logan trudged cautiously as he walked towards what appears to be the Brotherhood's base. He quietly sheathed his claws and trudged on. He widened his search with super-enhanced senses, using them to detect any hint of Rogue's presence. He stopped in his tracks as his nose picked up a familiar yet distant scent. It wasn't Rogue's. The figure stepped out from the side and Logan was faced with a buzz cut, clean-shaven man in a dark trench coat. He ran all the names in his head but came out empty. Why does his mind keep flashing back of these unknown memories he'd never thought he had.

"James. James… do you remember?" He whispered softly.

"What are you talking about? My name isn't James."

"Try to remember… 1824, we ran away together. 1859, we fought side by side. Us against them," he replied gently, pleading.

"Stop calling me James, damnit! Stop it! Where's Rogue?" Logan argued vehemently. To make his point, he reached the mysterious mutant in one long stride and stabbed the tree which he was leaning against. His claws were mere inches away from his unprotected neck. He continued as though nothing happened and reached out towards Logan's shoulders and squeezed.

"Time to remember, James. Try! 1824, you were sick…"

_1824… 1824, something bad happened. You were sick. 1824, 1824, 1824… James. James. What are you? No more lies. Lies… I need him to know… He wasn't your father… son._

Something within clicked. Logan sees a young kid in a blood red bathrobe running in the forest in the night… barefoot. An older boy came up from behind and grabbed the kid. Which boy was him?

"_I didn't mean it."_

"_Yes, you did. He deserved it and you gave it to him. We're brothers, Jimmy. You realized that? And brothers protect each other. You have to be hard now, harsh enough that they can never touch us."_

"_I wanna go home."_

"_We can't. We stick together no matter what, and take care of anyone who gets in our way. Can you do that, little brother?"_

Logan stared at them; the news was too overwhelming to comprehend immediately. He was the kid in the bathrobe. He had a brother…

"_They're coming… Can you run?"_

"_Keep on running. Don't look back."_

_Don't look back… Look back… Back…_

Back in the present, Logan slowly retracted his claws and took a step backwards. His brother regarded him with concern eyes but made no move. "Did you…"

"Yea, yea, I did. Still missing chunks more," Logan gruffly replied.

"Come back to base with me. You don't have to hang with those nancy pancies anymore," Victor patted his long-lost-now-found brother's back.

"…I can't. Wheels sent me here to find Rogue and bring her back. I don't know why but it's something I gotta do. I can't stop thinking about her," Logan stepped away from him.

"She ain't here, James."

"…She's working for Magneto now, isn't she?" Logan threw a glance Victor's way.

He side-stepped James's question and said once again, "Come with me. She can wait. I know someone who could free you from whatever Xavier has done on ya."

_Don't look back, James. Don't look back._

* * *

**To be continued…**


	7. Shifting of Tides

**Disclaimer: Not mine or this story would be abandoned and uncompleted.**

**A/N: Present day and flashback events are only related to the X-Men side. The Brotherhood is set at present day. **

* * *

_Chapter Seven: Seeing Ghosts_

_Don't look back, James._

**Chapter Eight: Shifting of Tides**

_Present Day_

Something's wrong but nobody here speaks of it. Happiness has been replaced with tension. People are waiting for the next person to snap, lying low, tempers reined. What has this place transformed into? Our leaders are suddenly having a difference in opinion. The real reason: Rogue. Everyone talks about her; no one really knows her, the real her. Not even me. The professor spends all his time locked in his office. The hallway leading to Cerebro has been sealed tight; only the professor has main access. I hear the new hot resident, Warren Worthington, takes over his ethics class. Girls drool over him, but not me.

"Did you see those shoes? What century does she live in?" Ugh, it's her again. That girl talks too loudly to have a kickass code name. Horror movies scare Kitty so much that she spends the whole duration of it under blankets, and is like an extra physical shadow of Bobby Drake. Drake basks in his little spotlight, Pryde agreeing everything and following him everywhere and there is Pete still waiting for her to see him.

Storm spends most of her time in her greenhouse, lost. Her emotions are so tangled that we either get partly sunny days to downright heavy thunderstorms. Dr. Grey's comatose body has mysteriously "disappeared." Logan, who was supposed to check in two days ago, has gone missing and pretty much dropped off the grid. I may be a newbie at this whole X-Men thing, but only two people are unaffected by the outcome. One of them is our team leader and the other… a cold standoffish, calculating mutant by the name of Blake. From the rumor mill, he is one attractive loner, often chilling by himself or with Mr. Summers. I know, for a fact, he hates Drake but I don't understand why he would hang around Drake's people.

Yeah, you are either one of them or nobody's. I chose the latter and my mysterious crush left me to join them. I don't know what his fucking deal is.

~w~

_Flashback_

Charles Xavier was stumped. Never had he been misled by his own machine. He read the full report before handing it over to Ororo with Scott reading over her shoulder. Ororo started, "We have been searching in the wrong place. Pyro is telling us the truth." Charles replied, "Yes it appears Cerebro has been tampered by a student. Cerebro has never been wrong before. A strange anomaly…" He trailed off. Ororo stared at him with confusion and opened her mouth but Scott beat her to it. "Who was it, Charles?"

"Uriel… No code name. No last name either. It seems none of us checked him in."

Hank frowned. "You're saying he pops out of nowhere and no one noticed him?"

Charles nodded in affirmation. "I'm starting to believe the incident with Rogue was a distraction. He must have tampered with the machine when we were busy."

Scott took the information in and accessed the situation mentally. He put the pieces together and it clicked.

Ororo spoke up. "Isn't there any student who is friends with him?"

"I… I don't know," the Professor admitted. "If it is what I think it is, our security has been breached. We need to do an update with all current students. We know, for sure, one Braddock has successfully slipped into our midst and back out. The Braddocks are one powerful influential family; we need to tread cautiously."

All done and said, they filed out from Xavier's office and went their separate ways – Ororo to her own office, determined to start filtering out which student was a spy and not; Hank back to the infirmary; and Scott went into an unused wing and proceeded down a secret entrance with multiple turns. He unlocked the door and entered what used to be a command center now housed a comatose patient, and they were not alone.

"How did you get here?" Scott demanded of the teen whose back was turned. The teen made no indication he heard anyone and continued to monitor machines. Scott reached out to tap on his visor. "I wouldn't do that," the teen turned around with a smirk. Scott went slack-jawed. "Blake?"

"Mr. Summers," Blake said as he walked casually around the room as if he owned the place. "I know everything that goes on and she has been very good at supplying the passwords to get me the information I need." At his gesture, several computers were running fine showing the camera feeds of every nook and cranny of the institute. "Jean is in a coma; she can't hear us." _[Hello Scott. Don't be afraid. He's been keeping me company.]_

Scott sat down on one of the vacant chairs and asked, "What information are you looking for?" Blake shook his head and grinned. "I already have all that I need. Did you know your brother is alive?" When Scott just stared at him, Blake sighed. "So much secrets, so little time… I'll be brief." And just like that, he proceeded to tell Scott what Xavier has kept from him all these years as well as of the plan for Logan's disposal.

"Do you understand the man you used to look up to, is no longer sane?" Scott stood up, walked to Jean's bedside and caressed her cheek. "Whose side are you on, Blake?"

"Rogue's." Scott looked up sharply and Blake walked to the exit, calling out "I'll be back later to discuss the plan."

* * *

In another state, Lucas steps into the cabin with trepidation. Victor was being odd today, vague was not his thing. He knocks on the only closed door and a gruff voice beckons him in. He walks in to find him and Logan seated, nursing a drink. He hissed at the man. "Why are you fraternizing with the enemy?" James aka Logan spoke up without looking at the teen. "I can hear you." Victor stood up and claps him on his shoulders. "He's my brother." Lucas shakes his head and leans against the window. "I'm sorry. Could you start from the beginning and pass me a drink as well?"

"So, you need a powerful telepath to break your brother from a crazy idealist by the name of Charles Xavier because he thinks Rogue is possessed by the Jean Grey's split personality called the Phoenix…" Lucas worked his jaw. Hell, that was a mouthful. "We have a problem – you do know the most powerful one is in a coma and the mutant who absorbed her is partying in the west coast, right?" James spoke up, looking directly at the teen, "Vic tells me you have a sister who has the same power. Maybe she can help me." Lucas shakes his drink idly. "No, we need someone who is equally strong as Xavier or stronger…"

"Try Lizzy first." Lucas replied, "Alright I will make the arrangements. Do I tell Uncle Eric?"

"Not now. He needs to focus."

* * *

He wishes he could focus at the pictures on the computer screen but his mind kept replaying the information Jean had filled him in. She knows Blake is no longer on their side and yet she is helping him. What is it about Rogue that has everyone distressed? She turned the Institute upside-down, turned Xavier spinning in circles, and turned their own against each other the moment she left. Sometimes, Scott could feel a pair of eyes eyeing him during one of his classes. Now that he was clued in, he begun to realize that certain pair of eyes had been Bobby all along, eyeing his leadership position.

Well he can have it; he can be the great fearless leader of the X-Men because the way these events are turning out, he rather be with Jean, comatose or not._ [Thank you. I am getting stronger, Scott. I think I can break free of this.] _ There's plenty of time, no need to hurry; he shushed her. _[Fate is not going to wait. Something is going to happen. I can feel it.]_

When she awakens, they will leave this place forever and leave the nasty squabbling to kids. Maybe he might take Blake along, smart lad. Maybe someday they will return, when the ocean has calmed.

* * *

Home sweet home, she muses as she drops her bags on the floor and lie on her new furnished bed, on her stomach with her eyes closed. She was so close to dreamland when someone knocked on her door. There stood John with his crooked smile. "Welcome back, Rogue." He said and she replied, "Miss me?" He took it as an invitation and entered whilst locking the door. "Plenty of raids and Drake bashing to be thinking of you," John grinned. Rogue pouted and stretched lazily, "Guess you won't mind if I take a short nap then…"

Yawning, she curled into her favorite lying position and then she felt a nip on the back of her collarbone and a pair of strong hands roaming on her torso. "And I thought you didn't miss me." Once the words left her lips, the hands traveled from her torso to her lower regions, slipping into her panties and parting her folds. He whispered into her ear, "Remember when you said you could do it all night long…" She hummed in reply at his caress. "I plan to do it All Night Long." Rogue grinned and straddled him, laughing airily. "Hope you can keep up, Johnny boy." He covers her in a thin layer of fire, knowing full well she could heal easily. She breathes as her clothes melt away, leaving her naked at his mercy. Her skin was unmarred by the flames that he marveled at her sheer beauty. Rogue kisses him full on the lips and the battle began a series of tongues trying to dominate the other, neither relinquishing control.

Rogue used her stolen telekinesis ability to rip her partner's clothes off. "Hey! That was my favorite shirt!" He protested. "Fair is fair. You burned mine."

Glaringly, John slid his member into her wetness and they both groaned – him at her tightness and her at being filled. "Don't make me do all the work," he groans. Rogue muttered a series of inexplicable curses that sounded like French, no doubt the works of an ex-partner in crime. She rode him to the blink of a powerful orgasm ripping through them as they both came simultaneously in sync all the while rocking the bed hard against the wall. Nobody was going to interrupt them as her room was the last and in the corner with John's room next to her.

As soon as their first orgasm subsided, he begins rocking against her again, building momentum and after that, her memory got real hazy. She remembered doing it on the floor on her back with him grinding into her, legs raised in the air. He remembered fucking her against the wall and on her dresser and pretty much banging on every furniture. A good four-hour fuck and the couple collapsed together in a heap on the king-sized bed. How they managed to land back on the bed remains a mystery, or how she managed to put on a new outfit in the dark and matched them perfectly, because her previous one was burnt to ashes by a pyromaniac, and walked out of the headquarters in search of a kill, completely unaware that she passed by a shape-shifter and her previous lover with enhanced senses who could smell the sex lingering on her.

What Rogue could hazily remember was the first adrenaline rush of the latest absorption sending her to cloud nine, where she pretty much handed Annie control whilst she basked in it.

~w~

Three days later had almost all newspapers titled "Cold Case Reopens" as its main page highlights foul play, mysterious disappearances, clothing strewn everywhere, but the bodies were missing. Eric flipped open the newspaper and skimmed the contents before leaning back against the sturdy leather armchair, nursing his cup of coffee. Dead ends for cops could mean possible of mutant activity. He texts his son, Petro and hopes Lucas is with him so he wouldn't have to send another, to investigate it.

Thus the day begun with the duo reading through pages of the first case then with the latest one in the papers, Lucas hunched over his laptop muttering away and Petro reading the contents on his iPad. Lucas's forehead creased as he read the first case. The victims were a family of five, tourists who went missing in Vegas and were last seen in the Golden Nugget. More incessant creases appeared as he read the report – there were absolutely no bodies, just pieces of clothing articles that the victims wore on that night. He ruled robbery as a possible activity since no identification was among the items left, just clothes.

Following the case were other strange cases that fitted the description. Clothing was always left behind, bodies were never found, but this time the police found a couple of wallets still in the pants pocket of the bodies-less victims. Lucas frowned and reread the entire newspaper article and realized one fact – the killings began strictly in the back alleys of casino hotels and then landed in their backyard. It couldn't be, could it? This could not be a matter of coincidence. What game are you playing?

"Petro, the kills began in the west. Strange, isn't it?" Lucas half-yelled to make himself heard across the room as the upstairs was being blasted by loud rock music. "Wanda, turn that fucking radio down!" His yelling went unheeded naturally. Petro replied loudly, "How is it strange? Serial killers travel often anyways, can't stay in a place for too long."

Lucas huffed. "Are you actually reading or watching whatever sports game in the next window? These killings occurred in one specified area and then just suddenly pop in our own backyard. Pete, I think these are Rogue's kills."

Petro was at his side immediately. "Hmm, we sent her west. She distracts Xavier by causing drama and now she's back in killer mode. Did Father mention anything about the Phoenix's powers?"

"I don't know, man. This is getting weirder and weirder." Lucas studies the pictures in the newspaper studiously. The way clothes were strewn everywhere but in an orderly manner was odd, as if the body used to be there but it disappeared into thin air and whatever objects couldn't follow where the bodies went… just stayed behind. But there were too many clothes lying around and Lucas thought he saw a small-sized T-shirt and jeans that looked like they belonged to a child. In fact, the number of clothes suggested there were quite a number of people. Maybe he could take a look, a quick peek at the scene itself.

He glanced at the older fellow, quickly thinking his plan thoroughly. Petro did not like that look. He dreaded that look. It usually results in doing something insane. "Why are you looking me like that?" Lucas tugs him up, smiling. "Let's go on an adventure."

~w~

Half an hour later, they arrived at the crime scene. In the alleyway, inside the yellow tape stood Lucas assessing the crime scene wearing a classic detective hat and trench coat, and a fake moustache whilst the other left to keep an eye out. He took careful steps, making sure not to cross on chalked figure outlines. He could feel them; see them at their last moments before death claimed what was his. He heard them whispering and circling him. _Another cop. Looks too young to be one. Hmm, he's hot._

Lucas replied his thanks and the whispers changed. _He can hear us. Another freak. Devil's spawn._ He rolled his eyes and whispers theatrically, "I see dead people." One giggled, he assumed it was the child who stepped out of the circle. _She passed me by and then people started gasping. I became weak. I didn't know what was happening. Felt sleepy too._ Lucas knelt down. "Did she touch you?" The ghost child shook his head and Lucas concluded that Rogue's ability might have evolved her gift to a whole new level and she may not have realized the full consequences.

One thing for sure – the Brotherhood is housing a very dangerous mutant. He gulps. "We're doomed!"

* * *

**To be continued onto part II…**

Reviews are greatly appreciated! I want a cookie. Make that multiples and I just might update the next much FASTER than you think. I assure you I am almost done with next chapter. And don't think you will get away that easily with this fricking annoying phrase which I've come to hate - "Update soon please."


End file.
